Freshwater plant. ID?

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Charles Krebs
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Freshwater plant. ID?

Post by Charles Krebs »

This is a freshwater plant that I found in an old sample kept outside. I'm curious if anyone might have some ID information. I'd like to learn more about this species.

The cytoplasmic streaming seen through the microscope is remarkable. Here again I am curious about the round "spiked balls" flowing through the cell. Not a great video but you can see some here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKquFriEDzQ


Image

Image

Sumguy01
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Post by Sumguy01 »

:smt038 No idea what it is.
Amazing pics and video.
Thanks for sharing.

Wim van Egmond
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Post by Wim van Egmond »

Brilliant!

I think it is Chara.

Wim

Jacek
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Post by Jacek »

I do not know what it is. Second photo of SUPER!

eward1897
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surprisingly nice algae

Post by eward1897 »

I too think this is Chara. The interesting geometric spherical structures are antheridia (male sexual organs that produce biflagellate sperm).

Chara is one of the stonewort green algae. They are tough (sometimes calcified), branching, and have thick rhizomes that look like roots, giving a superficial resemblance to higher plants.

The cytoplasmic streaming is beautiful. I didn't know about it in Chara before, and will have to look for it. The chemistry (actin and myosin, same as your muscles) and physics (actin self organizes into spiral filaments) of Chara cytoplasmic steaming (a synonym for cyclosis) were worked out by Ray Goldstein at Cambridge University.

A journal article-
Woodhouse, F.G.; Goldstein, R.E. (2013), "Cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells emerges naturally by microfilament self-organization", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110 (35): 14132–14137

A you tube video by Goldstein Lab-
youtube.com/watch?v=kud4qUhsCxg

A wikipedia article with details about cytoplasmic streaming-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoplasmic_streaming#Benefits_of_cytoplasmic_flow_in_Chara_corallina_and_Arabidopsis_thaliana



I've often enjoyed cyclosis in Elodea or Hydrilla but have generally not looked much at Chara other than scanning for epiphytes clinging to it. It never struck me as pretty like Spyrogyra and other green algae. One local lake grows Chara where waves pound on submerged rocks and I'll be looking for it now.

Thanks for the post. The images you dismiss as not particularly good are still better than my best efforts.

Ed
old AO phase optics on Reichert microstar iv ('crappiest microscope ever produced by the hand of man' )

razashaikh
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Post by razashaikh »

Amazing!

Smokedaddy
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Post by Smokedaddy »

... amazing indeed.

GaryB
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Post by GaryB »

That is a very interesting plant, the speed of the cytoplasmic streaming is quite remarkable, I've never seen anything like this myself so this is a treat.

Great stuff Charles. :D

vasselle
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Post by vasselle »

Bonjour
Magnifique images
Cordialement seb
Microscope Leitz Laborlux K
Boitier EOS 1200d

Roel Wijtmans
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Post by Roel Wijtmans »

Very interesting stuff!

actinophrys
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Post by actinophrys »

I do not know the charophytes particularly well, but might this be some genus like Nitella? My understanding was that in Chara proper, the whorls of branchlets are not themselves divided, and in most kinds you can see distinct longitudinal bands.

eward1897
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thanks for more info

Post by eward1897 »

Thanks to Charles for posting the images and thanks to actinophrys for more information.

I'm much further away from being an expert than actinophrys, and his doubts prompted more Googling. Some information about charophyte classification is at-

researchgate.net/publication/262459995_The_genera_Chara_and_Nitella_Chlorophyta_Characeae_in_the_subtropical_Itaipu_Reservoir_Brazil

http://shigen.nig.ac.jp/algae_tree/CharophyceaeE.html

biologydiscussion.com/algae/classification-of-charales-algae/57983

treasurecoastnatives.wordpress.com/category/nitella/

Grossly Chara is said to feel rough and smell musty or like garlic when crushed. Nitella is an inevasive species in several places and is said to feel smooth or slimy in the hand.

The above sources say that Chara usually has additional spike like cells (stipulodes and spines) branching from the nodes, and longitudinal coarse ridges along the main (internodal) cells. The spiral shaped female organ (nucula) is more elongated in Chara than Nitella, and is topped by a crown (coronula) of 5 cells in Chara, 10 in Nitella.

The living world is amazing, and it often takes an expert to get just to genus level taxonomy. Luckily us amateurs can still enjoy exploring and learning more. Thanks again Charles and actinophrys.

Whether Chara or Nitella or another genus, the charophyte internodal cells are huge. There's just one cell between nodes, so each cell is up to several centimeters long. Cytoplasmic streaming has also been filmed in Nitella, including this YouTube video-

youtube.com/watch?v=X_X9-NqCtgA


Thanks again Photomacrography community for teaching me something new and wonderful.


Ed in Minnesota
old AO phase optics on Reichert microstar iv ('crappiest microscope ever produced by the hand of man' )

Marek Mis
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Post by Marek Mis »

Awesome images, Charlie !

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