THE THALLOPHYTES 347 
Chara, a type of this family, is a submerged fresh-water plant 
which fastens itself to the muddy bottom of ponds, ditches and 
slow streams by means of slender filaments called rhizoids. _ Its 
plant body consists of a many noded (jointed) axis or so-called 
“stem”? which bears whorls of slender, green, dwarf branches, 
- Apical Cell 
Dwarf Branch-~4 
8 
E 
~~~ Internodal Cell 
Fic. 251.—Chara fragilis. Wabit and structure of certain vegetative parts. 
A, portion of plant showing long branches (a), dwarf branches (6), and rhizoids. 
B, longitudinal section through growing tip. CC, cross section of internode, showing 
internodal cell and surrounding cortex. (From Mottier, adapted from Campbell .) 
sometimes called leaves, at its nodes. The dwarf branches, like 
the main axis, possesses nodes and internodes. The nodes of 
these produce short abortive “leaves.” Filamentous rhizoids 
arise from the lower node. Long branches are also found issuing 
from the axils of some of the dwarf branches at the nodes which 
repeat the structure of the main axis. Reproduction is either 
