The Contribution of Historical and Morphological Studies on Herbarium Specimens to a Better Definition of Chara pelosiana Avetta (Charales, Charophyceae)

Abstract

The lectotype of Chara pelosiana Avetta 1898 was designated in 2000 by Langangen, who merged the species with Chara fibrosa Agardh ex Bruzelius. Chara pelosiana belongs to the section Agardhia Wood, but the true identity of the species has yet to be confirmed. The purpose of this work is to show some historical and morphological findings regarding this enigmatic species, on the basis of the analysis of herbarium specimens. The original material, which was studied by Avetta, is missing in Italian herbaria, but portions of it have been found in the Herbarium of Jena. Historical research on botanists related with this species resulted in the discovery of several specimens to be considered “original material”, and new unpublished localities in Northern Italy. Morphological observations have been made on portions of herbarium specimens as a contribution to unveil the taxonomic identity of this taxon. The specimens are diplostichous with ecorticate branchlets, have stipulodes in a single row, one or two per branchlet, and spine cell up to 1 mm long.

Macrophytes in Inland Waters: From Knowledge to Management

“…Millozza and Abdelahad [ 10 ] present a different aspect of the basic research, more connected to the taxonomy. In detail, this paper provides an example of how historical herbarium collections can be used to assist ecology, biogeography, and conservation biology research, in this case supplying information to better define a species described at the end of the nineteenth century.…”

The Charophytes (Charophyceae, Characeae) from Dagestan Aquatic Habitats, North Caucasus: Biogeographical and Barcoding Perspectives

“…The current approach in taxonomical studies of charophytes is detailed morphological studies using light and scanning electron microscopy [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], usually in combination with phylogenetic analyses . Different regions of Eurasia were the focus of floristic research on charophytes in the last decade [10,, covering distribution, ecology, and protection, but only Europe has contemporary comprehensive flora mostly based on integrative taxonomy for its whole territory [77].…”