Characeae

Characeae
Chara globularis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Clade: Viridiplantae
(unranked): Charophyta
Class: Charophyceae
Order: Charales
Family: Characeae
S.F.Gray
Genera

See text.

Characeae is a family of freshwater green algae in the order Charales, commonly known as stoneworts. They are also known as brittleworts or skunkweed, from the fragility of their lime-encrusted stems, and from the foul odor these produce when stepped on.

In some treatments, the Characeae includes all the living (extant) species of Charales; this circumscription is followed here. In other treatments, the genus Nitellopsis, which has both extant and extinct species, is placed in a separate family, Feistiellaceae.

Nitellopsis obtusa
Submerged meadow of Chara vulgaris