About Chara braunii C.C.Gmel.
Chara braunii C.C.Gmel. is a small to medium-sized charophyte that ranges in color from fresh green to brownish green when growing on muddy bottoms. It is transparent and richly branched, and completely ecorticate, meaning it has no cortex. Its main axis is slender, reaching up to 1200 μm in diameter. Stipulodes, which are single-celled organs found in one or more rows on the branchlets of Chara, grow in a single whorl and are well developed. There are 6 to 10 branchlets per whorl, which are straight and occasionally incurved. Branchlets have 4 to 6 segments; the final segment is often reduced, with 1 or more small end cells forming a tiny terminal corona. Bracteoles, leaf-like structures, are slightly longer than the oospore. This species is monoecious. It is richly fertile, with oogonia positioned above the antheridia. Oospores are dark brown or black. The species has a cosmopolitan distribution between 65° N and 35° S. In Poland, Chara braunii is listed as indeterminate on the national red list of endangered algae, and this listing likely results from insufficient investigation of the species in the country. Historically, the species was only found in fish ponds in Poland, leading to suggestions that it was restricted to this ecosystem type, but discoveries from other regions of the world show this assumption is incorrect.
