Charophyceae of Chile – taxonomy and distribution. Part 1. Subfamily Chareae

Field investigations all over Chile combined with a check of herbarium collections increased the number of taxa within the subfamily Chareae known for Chile from 7 to 15. Chara vulgaris, C. braunii, C. capillacea (= C. globularis var. capillacea), C. nitelloides, C. contraria var. longilinea, C. magellanica and C. calveraensis had been recorded from Chile before. Only the first two species are common. For C. magellanica and C. calveraensis, both up to now known only from their type localities, new records are given. In total, 8 species were recorded in Chile for the first time. Chara contraria is rare but wide-spread. Chara andina was found in several sites in the north, C. squamosa in several sites in northern Patagonia, C. leptosperma in central and southern Chile, C. poopoensis in two disjunct sites, and Chara longifolia var. bulbillifera in one site in central Chile. Charafulgens was found in three saline sites in northern Chile, probably the only records outsite the taxon's type locality in Bali. One collection equates to Chara leptospora, recently described from Japan. For all taxa, records from Chile and the surrounding countries are summarized, and information is given about morphological patterns and recognition. No records of the genus Lamprothamnium or the section Willdenowia and just one record of section Agardhia were found in literature, herbarium collections, or field investigations. These groups are common in other South American regions. High variability in length of spines, bract cells and stipulodes as well as branchlet cortication suggests these traits are of limited value for species identification.