Chara vulgaris

The Ordinary Stonewort ( Chara vulgaris) is pretty easy recognizable by the unberindeten end member of each branch with bark.

The Common or Ordinary Stonewort ( Chara vulgaris ) is a monoecious representatives of the family Characeae. The algae is very rich in form, and about 70 heavy distinct forms have been described in the literature by their variability described. Upon removal from the water, the algae often develops a specific smell, which is similar to mustard oil. It is one of in Germany and parts of Europe most abundant Chara and very easy recognizable by the unberindeten end member of each branch with bark.

Occurrence

The Ordinary Stonewort occurs both in stationary and in moving waters. A special feature is that it can colonize in the initial stage freshly formed water-filled defects and very little water. It can stand in contrast to other stoneworts also a relatively high nutrient content in the water. Thus, it is preferably to be found in mesotrophic to eutrophic waters. In the nutrient-rich strong they can not usually be made ​​to last. Since she has some salt tolerance, it can occasionally occur in brackish water.

The Ordinary Stonewort occurs in all parts of the world. Recently, the stocks of the northern hemisphere are summarized from the polar regions to the Mediterranean as formatted vulgaris. Consequently, other shapes may be distinguished as small clans of the tropics and subtropics. At the heart of the Sahara, the algae have even been discovered in wells of the oases.

Identifying

The Ordinary Stonewort is up to 60 cm long and often heavily calcified during aging. In shallow water, their shoots are prostrate and rosette -like spread. They are only there to 40 cm long and the internodes are shorter than the branches. The Ordinary Stonewort is in contrast to other species from numerous, only up to 1 mm thick side shoots, where feathery branches are at 5 or 7 in a whorl. The branches are usually spread out and are only in young shoot parts towards the axis bent. Each branch has a characteristic, multicellular unberindetes end member, which often is even longer than the bark- bearing part.

The end cell of each branch is quite narrow, short and breaks very easily. The shoots are mostly diplostich, rare berindet isostich. The internodes and radii are spined only sporadically. The truncated, wide stipules are about 5 times less than the branch diameter and are arranged in two rows of densely placed. The road there are two pairs. The primary beef rows are usually weaker than the secondary developed. Therefore, the nodes and spines sit in the furrows. Spines often come individually before the shoot. This is also a characteristic for the ordinary characteristics Stonewort. The isolated spines are aulacanth on the countersunk cortical cells and appear papillenartig.

Gametangia are formed in summer and autumn. You are at the bark at Astgliedern and stand there for four or five and are surrounded by leaves that are on the front of the branch and significantly longer than they are. The oogonium has no crown, is about 0.7 mm high and 0.4 mm wide. It has 12 to 15 turns. Its cells are jaded and tend together. The oospore is only about 0.5 mm high and 0.3 mm wide, brown to dark brown and has 11 to 14 ribs. The antheridium is colored in diameter only about 0.3 mm, orange and fades quickly. The cells of the ordinary Stonewort have 14, 16 or 18 chromosomes.