Contrasting candelabrum algae
| Contrasting candelabrum algae | ||||||||||||
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Contrasting candelabra ( Chara contraria ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chara contraria | ||||||||||||
| A. Braun ex Kütz. , 1845 |
The variable, monocular opposing candelabrum alga ( Chara contraria ) is a candelabrum alga from the Characeae family .
Occurrence
The contrasting candy algae mainly colonizes clear, mesotrophic lakes. There it occurs mostly between 2 m and 5 m depth, whereby it always colonizes deeper areas than the quite similar common candelabrum algae . Some specimens have also been found at depths of up to 20 m, which are then small stunted forms. The alga is often found in mixed stands with other chara species. The contrasting candy algae occurs almost worldwide except in the tropics and subtropics . However , it is more common in the northern hemisphere . It reaches its main distribution in the moderate latitudes in Scandinavia , Central Europe and parts of Asia . Its southernmost occurrence in Europe is on the Iberian Peninsula and Italy .
Identifying features
The opposing candelabrum alga is similar to the common candelabrum alga ( Chara vulgaris ), but is only about 10 to 40 cm long and has an approx. 0.7 mm thick shoot. It is also increasingly encrusted with lime as it ages. The branches are usually 6 or 8 in the whorl. There are also seldom 12, but then mostly only on older rungs. 4 barked branches of the whorl often form small (mostly 5) leaflets, on which the gametangia with oogonia and oospores are formed. The anterior leaflets are often longer than the oogon, the posterior ones are significantly shorter. The internodes are usually 2 to 4 times as long as the branched side shoots. The bark is diplo- to hetero-tic and only rarely iso-tic . The often inconspicuous, quite short stipulars are located in two wreaths directly under the branch whorl, the upper row being longer than the lower. Both rows also appear rounded and are not pointed. The inconspicuous spines (botany) are short and rounded. They become longer than the shoot diameter and are also tylacanth (stand on individual, protruding rows of bark).
The orange-brownish colored oogon is about 0.8 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. The black colored oospore is about 0.6 mm long and 0.4 mm wide and has 12 to 14 distinct ribs. Oospores of different shapes often occur on a plant, which when ripe are provided with a thin layer of lime. The antheridium is about 0.4 mm in diameter and reddish or yellowish in color, although this also fades early.
literature
- Werner Krause, H. Ettl, G. Gärtner, H. Heynig, D. Mollenhauer: Freshwater flora of Central Europe. Volume 18: Charales (Charophyceae) . - Gustav Fischer Verlag, 1997. ISBN 3-437-25056-6
