More images of the alga Chara
The stonewort Chara horrida had disappeared from German waters in 1980 but has now been rediscovered by algal researchers in the Bodden Waters off the Baltic island of Hiddensee . The alga which can be up to 40 cm in length has so many spines that its main axis is hardly visible which has resulted in its descriptive German common name ‘struppig’ which means ‘bristly’ or ‘rugged’. Photo on top: © Sven Dahlke, Biologische Station Hiddensee, Germany.
Detail: The stonewort Chara horrida had disappeared from German waters in 1980 but has now been rediscovered by algal researchers in the Bodden Waters off the Baltic island of Hiddensee . The alga which can be up to 40 cm in length has so many spines that its main axis is hardly visible which has resulted in its descriptive German common name ‘struppig’ which means ‘bristly’ or ‘rugged’. Photo on top: © Sven Dahlke, Biologische Station Hiddensee, Germany.
The male reproductive organ (antheridium) of the Delicate Stonewort (Chara virgata) is strikingly orange-coloured. Above this the egg is visible which is surrounded by cells arranged in a helix; once an egg is fertilised, these cells become calcified. In this state the egg can survive heat and desiccation and can be dispersed to new aquatic habitats by ducks, geese and other wildfowl. Photo: © Gustav Johansson, Hydrophyta Ekologikonsult, Schweden.
The Coral Stonewort (Chara tomentosa) can dominate the entire bottom of lakes. This stonewort is one of the few species that be identified without a microscope. Even from a distance it can be recognised by its striking orange-red colouration. Photo: © Gustav Johansson, Hydrophyta Ekologikonsult, Sweden
The sheath cells that surround the main axis of Coral Stonewort (Chara tomentosa) are twisted in a rope-like fashion and covered in short, thickened spurs. Photo: © Gustav Johansson, Hydrophyta Ekologikonsult, Sweden
Like in other stoneworts branchlets of the Bristly Stonewort (Chara hispida) are arranged in whorls. Photo: © Klaus van de Weyer, lanaplan GbR.
Photos of the press release "Alga of the Year 2012": The Stoneworts (Chara species) – pioneers and keystone species under threat
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Use of the images is only permitted in connection with reporting on the topic ‘alga of the year 2012’ and only if the photographers are acknowledged in the format: first name, second name, institution. Commercial use of the images is not permitted.
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