Stonewort

Biological Name:

Chara spp. (Stonewort)

Natural Habitat:

Stonewort: This plant is found in a variety of habitats, including ponds, lakes, and rivers. It is native to many parts of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia.

Description:

Stonewort also known as Chara is a plant that is native to wetland and riparian areas of North America. It is a perennial herb that can grow up to six inches tall and it has small inconspicuous flowers that are typically green or yellow in color. The plant is known for its hard stony appearance and it is often found growing in shallow muddy waters.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is stonewort in biology?
A: Stoneworts (Class Charophyceae) are freshwater organisms (some consider them algae) that superficially resemble plants due to the presence of stem-like and leaf-like structures that form whorls at nodes, resembling bicycle spokes. Stoneworts developed multicellularity independently from red algae.
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Q: Where do stoneworts grow?
A: Habitat: Starry stonewort may grow anywhere from a few inches deep to 9 meters deep. It prefers hard-water lakes with marl sediments.
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Q: Where are stoneworts found?
A: Starry stonewort is native to Eurasia, from the west coast of Europe to Japan. The species was unintentionally introduced into the United States’ Great Lakes through the discharge of contaminated cargo ship ballast water. The first occurrence in the United States was in 1978 along the St. Lawrence River.
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Q: How does stonewort reproduce?
A: How does it spread? Starry stonewort is believed to be spread from one body of water to another by the unintentional transfer of bulbils, the star-like structures produced by the plant.
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Q: Why is Chara known as stonewort?
A: The algae Chara is also known as stonewort, as its plant body is encrusted with calcium carbonate.
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Q: How do you control starry stonewort?
A: Some chemical herbicides and algaecides have been effective at reducing starry stonewort. Herbicide applications may be less effective on tall stands of starry stonewort, as the chemical is quickly absorbed into the upper parts of the algae, leaving the lower parts unharmed.
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Q: Is stonewort a green algae?
A: stonewort, (order Charales), order of green algae (class Charophyceae) comprising six genera. Most stoneworts occur in fresh water and generally are submerged and attached to the muddy bottoms of fresh or brackish rivers and lakes.
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Q: What is the best media for growing algae?
A: Two enrichment media that have been used extensively and are suitable for the growth of most algae are the Walne medium (Table 2.3.) and the Guillard’s F/2 medium (Table 2.4.).
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Q: What are the 4 main types of algae?
A: Chlorophyta (Green algae) Rhodophyta (Red algae) Paeophyta (Brown algae) Xanthophyta (Yellow-green algae)
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Q: What are the 3 types of algae?
A: There are 3 classes of algae: Chlorophyceae, Rhodophyceae, Phaeophyceae.
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Q: Is stonewort a land plant?
A: The name “stonewort” arose from the lime that often encrusts these plants. These curious underwater plants are actually large algae, growing in a form that makes them resemble flowering plants. Botanists believe that the various species of chara are the closest living algal relatives to the land plants.
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Q: Is stonewort an invasive plant?
A: Starry stonewort is an aggressive invasive species, and it is continuing to spread to a greater geographic footprint.
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Q: What are the 4 land plants?
A: There are four major evolutionary groups of land plants: Bryophytes, Seedless Vascular Plants (SVPs), Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms.
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Q: Which algae is known as stonewort?
A: Charales is an order of freshwater green algae in the division Charophyta, class Charophyceae, commonly known as stoneworts.
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Q: Which algae is called stonewort and why?
A: The algae Chara is also known as stonewort, as its plant body is encrusted with calcium carbonate.
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Q: Do stoneworts have flowers?
A: Stems: May reach 80 cm (33 in) in length. Flowers: Lacks true flowers. Cream colored bulbs form at the base of each cluster of branches.
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Q: How tall can stoneworts grow?
A: They reach heights from 30 cm to 10 m in the water column (Monkman, 2020). Starry Stonewort has white, star shaped bulbils on the main axes, and branchlet nodes (Larkin et al., 2018).
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About the author

Samuel is a gardening professional and enthusiast who has spent over 20 years advising homeowners and farm owners on weed identification, prevention and removal. He has an undergraduate degree in plant and soil science from Michigan State University.