Chara globata MIG. (Streptophyta: Charales): Rare species revised

Abstract

A rare species Chara globata Mig. has a distinct habit and may be referred to as a flagship species. Here we describe a wide range of vegetative and reproductive morphologies in C. globata in localities distant from the locus classicus. In contrast to the known holotype features, the specimens studied consistently displayed a generally tylacanthous diplostichous stem cortex which is in agreement with protologue. Based on morphology, phylogenetic affinity (this study) and results of breeding experiments (Proctor 1971, 1975), we proposed that C. globata should be transferred to the section Chara. Current data suggest that C. globata is a species with a disjunctive distribution, mainly in the arid and semiarid regions of Eurasia. Specimens collected from the end of the 1960s to the beginning of the 1970s confirmed the existence C. globata in Western Asia. The species was also recorded in Europe and the Sahara–Arabian Desert for the first time.