Tolypella glomerata (Desvaux) Leonhardi

Pagana, Ilaria, Virzì, Alessandra, Zafarana, Manuel Andrea & Alongi, Giuseppina, 2024, New Characeae (Charophyceae, Charales) report in eastern Sicily (Italy), Italian Botanist 18, pp. 109-122 : 109-122

Tolypella glomerata (Desvaux) Leonhardi

Fig. 6 a – c

Geographical distribution.

T. glomerata probably has a cosmopolitan distribution ( Stewart and Hatton-Ellis 2020). It was recently reported from India ( Verma et al. 2021) and Israel ( Barinova and Smith 2022); from Europe in Iceland ( Hrafnsdottir et al. 2019), Belgium ( Denys et al. 2019), Germany ( Täuscher 2020; Doege et al. 2022), and Britain ( Pentecost and Haworth 2021) but, generally, it is widespread throughout the European continent ( Guiry and Guiry 2024). In the British Isles its populations are widely distributed but scanty and apparently in regression ( Stewart and Hatton-Ellis 2020). In Italy, it has been reported from Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Abruzzo, Basilicata, Apulia, Sardinia and Sicily ( Formiggini 1908; Sciandrello 2007; Bazzichelli and Abdelahad 2009; Becker 2019).

Conservation status.

In Wales this species is in the least concern ( LC) threat status of Red List Assessment ( Stewart and Hatton-Ellis 2020). In the Länder of Germany, the status of T. glomerata varies from extinct ( RE) to vulnerable ( VU), whereas in the Czech Republic it is considered endangered ( CR). In Sweden, after the revision of the Red List in 2010, its status dropped by one category, and it is currently classified as critically endangered ( EN) ( Auderset Joye and Schwarzer 2012).

Previous reports in Sicily.

Undefined location in Sicily ( Formiggini 1908); Caltanisetta, Gela, Piana del Signore ( Sciandrello 2007).

New reports in Sicily.

Geloi Wetland (GW-A, GW-B, GW-C-Gela, Caltanissetta).

Morphology.

Thalli are 7–10 cm tall, with erect axes about 1 cm thick; their colour is green with white encrustations. The branches are grouped in dense clusters (Fig. 6 a ) and the whorls are composed of 6–8 rays each. The lower whorls are sterile and sparse, while the upper ones are fertile with dense rays. The terminal segments of the rays are shorter than the subterminal and their apices are blunt (Fig. 6 b ). T. glomerata is a monoecious species. The oogonia are borne in groups of 1–3 and are about 350 × 240 µm in size (Fig. 6 c ). The antheridia are about 250 µm in diameter.

Figures

Figure 6. Tolypella glomerata (Desvaux) Leonhardi a branches agglomerated b segment of the rays with blunt apices c oogonia. Scale bars: 1 cm (a); 500 µm (b); 100 µm (c).