Multi-prickly candelabrum algae
| Multi-prickly candelabrum algae | ||||||||||||
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Multi-prickly candelabrum ( Chara polyacantha ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chara polyacantha | ||||||||||||
| A. Braun , Rabenh. and Stizenb. , 1859 |
The multi-prickly chandelier alga ( Chara polyacantha ) is a very rare monoecious representative of the chandelier algae . It is threatened with extinction in Germany and only occurs in unpolluted clear standing water.
Occurrence
The multi-prickly chandelier alga occurs in oligosa-sampled standing waters, in unpolluted waters from oligo- to (more rarely) mesotrophic peat bites and in clear water lakes. It is not uncommon for these waters to be calcareous. It is very scattered in Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to Poland to Denmark and England. In Germany it is on the Red List of the Characeae and is classified as critically endangered there.
Identifying features
The multi-prickly chandelier alga is a relatively strong alga with a large number of spines. It becomes altogether up to 75 cm long, rarely even up to 1 m. It forms a shoot with a diameter of 1 to 2 mm, which in turn usually forms long side shoots on large specimens. The bark is diplostich or (less often) isostichy . The stipulars stand on the edges of the bark ( tylacanth ) and never in the furrows of the bark ( aulacanth ). However, the trimming is often difficult to see. The stipulars stand in two rows on the whorl. They are thinly shaped, pointed and about as long as the diameter of the stem. The stiff spines on the rungs are about 1 to 3 times as long as the stem diameter and are usually 3 or 5 bundled together. The branches stand 8 to 12 in the whorl and are up to 8 cm long. The short branches are bent towards the internode, but the long ones protrude from it. Each branch has 5 to 7 barked links and a one or two-celled barkless terminal link with a narrow terminal cell. The leaves on the branches are 5 or 7 together. They are always twice as long as the branch diameter.
Gametangia are formed from summer to autumn. The (female) oogon becomes about 1 mm long and 0.65 mm wide. It has 12 to 15 turns and is often surrounded by a thick layer of limestone. At the top there is a large crown, which is up to 0.15 mm high and about 0.25 mm wide. The black oospores are 0.75 mm long and 0.4 mm wide and have 11 to 14 ribs. The (male) orange colored antheridium has a diameter of about 0.4 mm and is spherical in shape.
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
- The Characeae in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (PDF file; 988 kB)
- Checklist of Characeae in Germany (PDF file; 879 kB)
Web links
Crab Scissors (2003) | Southern Water Hose (2004) | Multi-prickly candelabrum (2005) | European Sea Can (2006) | Great Mermaid (2007) | Common swimming fern (2008) | Streaky pondweed (2009) | - (2010) | Water Nut (2011) | Common water crowfoot (2012) | Hedgehog Tube (2013) | Australian clover (2014) | Southern Water Hose (2015) | Flooding water crowfoot (2016) | White water lily (2017) | Star candelabrum (2018) | European frog bite (2019)