3. Habitat- sand, mud, freshwater ponds & ditches.
Plants- errect, branched, nodes & internodes.
Two types of branching- limited growth
unlimited growth.
Plant size- upto 25 cm. common name- stoneworts.
Cell- single discoid nucleus
Asexual reproduction absent.
Sex organs- complex, large. Male gametes motile
biflagellate. Protonemal stage is present.
4. Chara - fresh water -stagnant, 90 spp.
Plants- errect, multicellular ,branched, nodes and
internodes, branched rhizoids with oblique septa.
Nodes- 3 types of branches-
branches of limited growth
branches of unlimited growth
stipuloids
cellwall- cellulose cal. carbonate on it.
cell- young single nucleus when old many nuclei,
many small discoid chloroplast with pyrenoids,
growth of the plant-single dome shaped apical
cell.
9. Reproduction :
vegetative- amylum stars
bulbils- small tuber like , on
rhizoids.
amorphous bulbils-small round
filled with food, in clumps,
on stem or rhizoids.
secondary protonema-
Sexual- highly evolved, oogamous, complex sex
organs, male- globule, female- nucule, develop
on nodes in pairs, most spp.-monoecious, some-
dioecious.
10. Globule- yellow or red,25 celled, one pedicel,
8- shield cells,8- manubrial cells, 8-capitular
cells.
On primary capitulum arise secondary
capitulum- antheridial filament-50-150 cells-
antherozoids. Spirally coiled,2-flagella.
Nucule- situated above the globule, dark
green,oval, 5-tubular cells , 5-corona cells on
top, with single egg.
11. • Systematic position of Chara:
• Its structure is like Eqisetum- Pteridophyte.
• Multicellular sex organs- Bryophyta.
• Similar to Chlorophyceae- pigments,
starch,haploid plant ,haplontic life cycle.
• Differences- structure of plant, jacketed sex
organs,protonemal stage,zoospore absent.
• Similarity with Bryophyta-protonemal stage,sex
organs, antherozoids,rhizoids.
• Differences-sporophytic phase-zygote
only,structure of plant. Fristsch placed it in
chlorophyceae- charales.Smith-!955, Mclean &
Cook 1956-division Charophyta.