Characeae

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Read about Characeae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
CHARACEAE (Stoneworts) Attached plants (1 inch to 1 yard in length) of fresh or brackish water, consisting of a slender stem, which bears at each node a whorl of branches, usually again bearing whorled branchlets. The internodes consist of one immense multinucleated cell often as much as 3 inches long, which is naked or inclosed in a sheath of smaller cells. The branches are similarly constructed though the cells are correspondingly smaller. Asexual spore-reproduction is absent. Sexual reproduction is by means of an egg-cell inclosed in a jacket of spiral wall-cells, and of sperm-cells inclosed in an antheridium which has a multicellular wall. These sexual organs are borne at the nodes of the branchlete. The fertilized egg and its investment becomes a thick-walled resting structure. Many species of Chara and Nitella, the only two genera, have the power to deposit lime from solution, and thus become incrusted with that substance, hence the popular name. In this way the Characeae have played a part in the filling up of calcareous lakes and the production of new land. They are mostly inhabitants of calcareous waters. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

More information about this class can be found on the division page.

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