Charophytes of Australia’s Northern Territory - I. Tribe Chareae
Author
Casanova, Michelle T.
Author
Karol, Kenneth G.
text
Australian Systematic Botany
2023
2023-03-30
36
1
38
79
http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sb22023
journal article
293863
10.1071/SB22023
e5fdbbed-c92d-445e-a431-c85042aede21
1446-5701
10904227
Key to the species of
Chara
in the
Northern
Territory
1 Plants dioecious...............................................................................2 Plants monoecious...........................................................................7
2 Plant axis entirely ecorticate...........................................................3 Plant axis corticated, at least in part..............................................5
3 Axis diameter less than 700 µm, plants fine and tangled......
C. lucida
Axis
diameter greater than 700 µm, plants turgid and upright...... 4
4 Plants with small bract cells and stipulodes up to 850 µm long, branchlets incurved........................................................
C. porteri
Plants
with no visible bract cells and stipulodes, branchlets straight...............................................................
C. protocharoides
5 Axial cortex cell number the same or fewer than the branchlets in the adjacent whorl, some branch apices contracted and filled with starch grains...........................................................
C. submollusca
Axial
cortex cells 2× the number of the branchlets in the adjacent whorl...........................................................................................6
6 Bract cells on the branchlets abundant, 4–6, verticillate, stipulodes somewhat decumbent................................
C. lamprothamniformis
Bract
cells on the branchlets few, 2 or 3, somewhat unilateral, stipulodes spreading...................................................
C. bancroftii
7 Stipulodes in one row, no gyrogonites present on oospores...........8 Stipulodes in two rows, gyrogonites present on oospores............14
8 Stipulodes evenly 2× the number of branchlets............................9 Stipulodes 1× the number of branchlets, sometimes with more, but never 2×...................................................................................10
9 Oogonia <300 µm long, oospores ~200 µm long, plants small, spine cells and bract cells very long (up to
1 mm
) and abundant............. ....................................................................................
C. arnhemensis
Oogonia
>400 µm long, oospores ~300 µm long, spine cells short...... ..........................................................................................
C. schultae
10 Gametangia always arranged singly at the branchlet nodes, one oosporangium and one antheridium together...........................11 Gametangia arranged otherwise (sejoined, geminate or clustered).........................................................................................12
11 Stipulodes equal in number to the number of branchlets, branchlets long, bract cells few and plants somewhat calcified..................... ..................................................................................
C. duriuscula
Stipulodes
one or two more than the number of branchlets, branchlets short and bract cells abundant, plants without calcification ...................................................................................
C. benthamii
12 Gametangia sejoined and geminate in places, antheridia scarce, up to 700 µm wide.......................................................
C. erythrogyna
Gametangia
conjoined, sometimes geminate and clustered, antheridia 200–500 µm wide.....................................................13
13 Branchlet tips a corona of equal-sized cells, oospores black............ ........................................................................................
C. karolii
Branchlet
tips a single cell subtended by bract cells, oospores brown..............................................................................
C. wightii
14 Branchlets largely without cortex, or cortex only on lowest cells.........................................................................................................15 Branchlets fully corticated except the final 1 or 2 segments........16
15 Branchlet cortex reduced to undeveloped cortical initials, gametangia on ecorticate nodes, axis isostichous.....................
C. behriana
Branchlet
cortex present on a few lower branchlet internodes, gametangia only present where a cortex is present, axis aulacanthous......................................................................
C. aridicola
16 Basal branchlet cell cortex similar to all other corticated branchlet cells, plants smooth....................................................
C. globularis
Basal branchlet cell cortex either absent or lacking pigmentation......17
17 Basal branchlet cell cortex absent, plants rough...........
C. zeylanica
Basal branchlet cell cortex lacking pigment, appearing different from other cortex, plants smooth....................................
C. setosa