The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Nitella claytonii

Common Name(s)

Stonewort

Authority

Nitella claytonii M.T. Casanova

Family

Characeae

Brief Description

Small rarely branched submerged plant usually growing in water deeper than 10 metres.

Flora Category

Non Vascular - Native

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island.

Habitat

Usually recorded from deep, clear-water glacial lakes, at high altitude. Deeply growing, often as a 'meadow'.

Features

Aquatic, submerged, macro-algae. Linear, grass-like appearance, to c. 0.4 m tall. Inconspicuous, simple sterile branchlets arise in whorls from the central stems, which are anchored in the sediment by colourless rhizoids. Branchlet length is many times shorter than the stem length between whorls. Branchlets are rarely forked, are usually very short and three cells long. Stem and branchlets are comprised of strings of single cells that are easily punctured. Plant is monoecious, with antheridia and oogonia on the same plant, in small contracted heads or often occurring singly and without mucus present on small, elongated, contracted fertile heads.

Similar Taxa

The absence of obvious forking in the sterile branchlets means this species resembles lax examples of Chara australis and C. sp. aff. muelleri. However, these Chara species have small additional cells at the junctions of branchlet cells and immediately below the branchlet whorl.

Fruiting

Oospores are laterally compressed, longer than 450 µm and have prominent spiral ridges, with a reticulate membrane surface.

Propagation Technique

Fragments or oospores.

This page last updated on 7 Jan 2013