Charophyceae is a
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
of
charophyte green algae
The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...
.
AlgaeBase
AlgaeBase is a global species database of information on all groups of algae, both seaweed, marine and freshwater algae, freshwater, as well as sea-grass.
History
AlgaeBase began in March 1996, founded by Michael D. Guiry, Michael Guiry. Text ...
places it in division Charophyta.
Extant (living) species are placed in a single order
Charales
Charales is an order of freshwater green algae in the division Charophyta, class Charophyceae, commonly known as stoneworts. Depending on the treatment of the genus '' Nitellopsis'', living (extant) species are placed into either one family ( ...
, commonly known as "stoneworts" and "brittleworts". Fossil members of the class may be placed in separate orders, e.g.
Sycidiales and
Trochiliscales.
[
Charophyceae is basal in the Phragmoplastophyta clade which contains the ]embryophyte
The embryophytes () are a clade of plants, also known as Embryophyta (Plantae ''sensu strictissimo'') () or land plants. They are the most familiar group of photoautotrophs that make up the vegetation on Earth's dry lands and wetlands. Embryophy ...
s (land plants).[Hoek, C. van den, Mann, D. G. & Jahns, H. M. 1995]
''Algae: An Introduction to Phycology''
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [McCourt, R. M., Chapman, R. L., Buchheim, M. & Mishler, B. D]
“Green Plants”
Accessed 13 December 2007 In 2018, the first nuclear genome sequence from a species belonging to the Charophyceae was published: that of '' Chara braunii''.
Description
The thallus is erect with regular nodes and internodes. At each node there is a whorl of branches. The whole plant is calcified and ''Equisetum
''Equisetum'' (; horsetail) is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
''Equisetum'' is a "living fossil", the only living genus of the entire subclass Equisetidae, which ...
''-like. The internodes of the main axis consist of a single elongated cell, in '' Chara'' the internodes are corticated covering the main axis. In other genera these are absent. Where there is a single row of cortical cells the cortex is referred to as ''diplostichous'', where there are two rows of cortical cells it is termed ''triplostichous''. The intermodal cells elongate and do not divide, they become many times longer than broad.
Evolution
Below is a consensus reconstruction of green algal relationships, mainly based on molecular data.
References
{{Authority control
Charophyta
Green algae classes