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.