CONSPECIFICITY OF SOME CHAROPHYTES(1)

Area of Science:

• Botany
• Algology
• Plant Taxonomy

Background:

• The species Chara buckellii, Nitellopsis bulbillifera, and Chara longifolia have distinct type localities.
• Previous taxonomic classifications have treated these as separate entities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the biological conspecificity of Chara buckellii, Nitellopsis bulbillifera, and Chara longifolia.
• To clarify the species boundary between Chara longifolia and Chara hornemannii.

Main Methods:

• Successful experimental crosses were conducted between plant clones from British Columbia (type locality of C. buckellii) and Argentina (type locality of N. bulbillifera).
• Crosses were also performed with additional clones from Texas, New Mexico, and Wyoming, identified as C. longifolia.
• Field observations and experimental crosses were used to assess gene flow between C. longifolia and C. hornemannii.

Main Results:

• Plants from the type localities of C. buckellii and N. bulbillifera were successfully crossed.
• All three taxa (C. buckellii, N. bulbillifera, and C. longifolia) demonstrated successful interbreeding, suggesting they are biologically conspecific.
• No evidence of gene flow was found between C. longifolia and C. hornemannii in either field observations or experimental crosses.

Conclusions:

• Chara buckellii, Nitellopsis bulbillifera, and Chara longifolia should be considered the same biological species.
• Chara longifolia and Chara hornemannii represent distinct species that do not interbreed.