Charophytes (Characeae, Charophyta) in the Czech Republic: taxonomy, autecology and distribution

The Charales (stoneworts) are an ancient monophyletic group with conserved features same in ancesters as well as in present representatives. They are considered to be closely related to the ancestors of land plants. The taxonomy of Charales was delimitated on the basis of morphology and later by fossil characters as well. Nowadays, the higher taxa are relatively well defined and their delimitation is supported by molecular analyses. However, the situation is more problematic at subgeneric levels. The appearance often depends on the environmental conditions that can produce broad morphological variation. The last report on Charales in Bohemia was a checklist of taxa and their distribution along with ecological requirements (vilhelm 1914). Although about the research history and the species diversity in Bohemia from the 19th century are well recorded, there is little information from the 18th and 20th centuries. We have compiled here all historical and current data about the distribution of all members of Charales in the Czech Republic along with information on their ecological preferences. This paper presents a list of 26 species of the four genera of charophytes found in waters of the Czech Republic. The species have been distributed in over 1000 localities.