Chara globularis Thuiller

Pagana, Ilaria, Virzì, Alessandra, Zafarana, Manuel Andrea & Alongi, Giuseppina, 2024, New Characeae (Charophyceae, Charales) report in eastern Sicily (Italy), Italian Botanist 18, pp. 109-122 : 109-122

Chara globularis Thuiller

Fig. 3 a – d

Geographical distribution.

C. globularis is a cosmopolitan species ( Urbaniak and Gabka 2014). It has been reported from United States ( Smith 2010), Israel ( Barinova and Romanov 2016), Iceland ( Hrafnsdottir et al. 2019), and recently from Socotra Island, Yemen ( Zalat et al. 2020) and India ( Verma et al. 2021); it is also widespread in Europe ( Guiry and Guiry 2024). In Italy, it has been reported from Trentino Alto Adige, Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Tuscany, Marche, Umbria, Latium, Sardinia and Sicily ( Naselli-Flores and Barone 2002; Bazzichelli and Abdelahad 2009; Azzella 2014; Becker 2019; Guarino et al. 2019; Romanov et al. 2019; Panzeca et al. 2021).

Conservation status.

In the Scandinavian countries, Czech Republic, Balkan countries, Switzerland and many German Länder C. globularis is classified as least concern ( LC) while, in other regions of Germany (Saarland, Saxony and Thuringia) it is considered vulnerable ( VU) or endangered ( EN) ( Auderset Joye and Rey-Boissezon 2013). In Hungary, this species is considered vulnerable ( VU) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources IUCN ( Azzella 2014) and in Wales, it is in the least concern ( LC) threat status of Red List Assessment ( Stewart and Hatton-Ellis 2020). Finally in Slovakia C. globularis is a near-threatened ( NT) species in IUCN red-list ( Hindáková et al. 2022).

Previous reports for Sicily.

Palermo, Pond of Santa Rosalia ( Naselli-Flores and Barone 2002); Palermo, pond of Rebuttone ( Guarino et al. 2019; Romanov et al. 2019); Palermo, Coda di Riccio lake ( Guarino et al. 2019); Palermo, some ponds in the Palermo district ( Panzeca et al. 2021).

New reports in Sicily.

Curcuraggi ( CU - Melilli, Syracuse).

Morphology.

Thalli are 24–30 cm tall and green in colour. The main axis has a diameter of about 400 µm. The internodes are generally much longer than the branches (Fig. 3 a ). The rays are slender, with 6–7 corticate articles and two small terminal bare cells (Fig. 3 b ). The cortex is triplostichous, isostichous. It has rudimentary spine cells and the stipulodes are in two rows and are very small, rudimentary, and papilliform (Fig. 3 c ). The species is monoecious: the gametangia are borne jointly at the three lowest branchlet nodes; the oogonia are solitary and have a size of about 500 × 350 μm while the antheridia are about 300 μm in diameter (Fig. 3 d ).

Figures

Figure 3. Chara globularis Thuiller a habit b rays with 6–7 cortical articles c small, rudimentary, papiliform stipulodes arranged in two rows d detail of some oogonia and antheridia. Scale bars: 1 cm (a, b); 100 μm (c, d).