Charophyte Flora of South-eastern South Australia and South-western Victoria, Australia: Systematics, Distribution and Ecology

Abstract

The charophytes (Charales, Charophyta) from south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria were studied on the basis of collections from 56 waterbodies, 39 of which included charophytes. Chara globularis var. globularis (Thuillier) Wood, C. globularis var. virgata (KÜtzing) Wood, C. fibrosa var. fibrosa (Agardh ex Bruzelius) Wood, C. fibrosa var. acanthopitys (Braun) Wood, C. hookeri Braun, C. preissii (Braun) Wood, Lamprothamnium macropogon (Braun) Ophel, Nitella ignescens García, N. ungula García, N. lhotzkyi (Braun) Braun, N. aff. lhotzkyi, and N. congesta (Brown) Braun were recognised. An identification key for these species makes determination possible. A brief characterisation of the environment where the charophytes were found is provided, as a first approximation of the ecological requirements of Australian charophytes. At this stage their distribution can be mainly related to salinity, with charophytes living in fresh to hypersaline conditions (0.0–58.0 g L^–1). Special attention is put on L. macropogon, a euryhaline calcifying species, which has the broadest distribution in the area.

The floristic analysis shows endemism, dioecism and a high diversification of non-calcifying taxa as the main characteristics of the charophyte flora analysed.