Characeae of Fiji — Wood 
23 
The type variety, var. acuminata, is here 
broadened to include both the early sense, var. 
Belangeri Braun (1849:292), and that of the 
more diffuse forms, var. diffusa R.D.W. (Wood, 
1962a: 16) . 
The chromosome number of 18 agrees with 
Hotchkiss’ ( 1958” 15 ) earlier findings for North 
American material. 
Variations are relatively minor and intergrade 
into one another; however, one extreme pre- 
dominates in rice paddies and the other in pools. 
They appear to be ecologically induced fluctua- 
tions. One extreme is dendroid with an elon- 
gated lower axial internode which resembles a 
stalk and gives the plant a treelike habit. The 
plants also tend to be stouter throughout and to 
form distinctive heads (spec, d, f, g, j). The lax 
extreme has fairly uniform whorls evenly dis- 
tributed along the axis, the plants tending to be 
more slender and not to form heads (spec, a, b, 
h ) . In addition to the above variations, it should 
be noted that some specimens exhibit unusual 
tuberculate rather than smooth oospore mem- 
branes. Otherwise they agree with N. acuminata 
(spec, d, f, h), and are not here separated on the 
membrane feature alone. Hotchkiss (in press) 
noted no differences in the chromosomes of these 
variants. 
HABITATS: Rice fields, pools by bridge, pool 
by waterfall, lily pool, beach pool, creek, river. 
It apparently tolerates some salinity, as it oc- 
curred (spec, h) in a marsh which also had 
Acrostichum aureum L. The latter prefers "shal- 
low brackish swamps” (Merrill, 1945:52 ) . The 
apparent tolerance of N. acuminata to some 
trace of salt water in Fiji agrees with the ob- 
servation of Wood and Muenscher (1956:11), 
who reported it from tidal mud flats of the Hud- 
son River, New York. 
DISTRIBUTION: In Fiji, collected only on Viti 
Levu (Naitasiri near Sawani; and Serua near 
Galoa and Navua). N. acuminata is widespread 
throughout the world, and absent from only one 
temperate continent, Europe. It is commonly re- 
ported from islands, and in the Pacific is known 
from Indonesia, the Philippine Islands, Formosa, 
and Japan. 
SPECIMENS: VITI LEVU: Naitasiri: (a) R. D. 
Wood and S. Pillay 61-6-26-2. June 26, 1961. 
In ca. 12 inches of fairly turbid water, mud bot- 
tom, amid water lilies in the [more] western of 
the two large lily ponds on the plain below the 
Adi Cakobou School, Sawani, ca. 18 miles N of 
Suva (rdw 1551, Fig, 4); — (b) ibid. 61-6- 
26-3 . Ibid. (CYT F 14, n = 18; primary rays 
2-3 times dactyls in length); Serua: (c) R. D. 
Wood 61-6-8-1. June 8, 1961. In ca. 2 inches 
of clear water, muck bottom, old rice paddy ca. 
6 miles E of Galoa, ca. 32 miles E of Korolevu 
Hotel (small fertile heads); — (d) ibid. 61—6— 
8-2. Ibid.; — (e) ibid. 61-6-25-1. June 25, 
1961. In 3-4 inches of clear water, mud bottom, 
wet field N of road, ca. l A miles N of Navua 
Hotel, ca. 28 miles W of Suva (CYT F 10, n = 
18; with some short dactyls 2-3 mm long); — 
(f) ibid. 61—6-25-2. In ca. 2 inches of clear 
water, mud bottom, rice paddy N of road, ca. 
1 Vi miles W of Naitonitoni, ca. 29 miles W of 
Suva (RDW 1558; Fig. 1) (with some reduced 
dactyls and some small whorls); — (g) ibid. 
61-6-25—3. In ca. 1 inch of clear water, mud 
bottom, tips of the Nitella projecting ca. 1 inch 
above water surface {water receding], rice paddy 
S of road, ca. 1 mile W of Naitonitoni, ca. 30 
miles W of Suva; — (h) ibid. 61-6-25-5. In ca. 
8 inches of clear fresh water, fairly firm mud 
bottom, pool ca. 50 ft behind beach, ca. 500 
yards S of jetty at end of road, Naitonitoni, ca. 
31 miles W of Suva; some Acrostichum in the 
adjacent marsh (mature $ ); — (i) ibid. 62-6- 
25-6. Ibid, (formal, only, mixed with and la- 
belled N. pseudoflabellata)\ — (j) ibid. 62-6- 
25-9. In 2-4 inches of fairly clear water, mud 
bottom, rice paddy N of Queen’s Road 1 mile 
E of "Coronation Triangle” at Navua, ca. 26 
miles W of Suva. 
2. Subgenus Tieffallenia R.D.W. 
( = Arthrodactylae, pro parte) 
1. Section Tieffallenia (= Mucronatae) 
4. Nitella jurcata (Roxb. ex Bruz. ) Ag., em. 
R.D.W. — Chara furcata Roxburgh ex 
Bruzelius (1824:22); Nitella fmcata 
(Roxb. ex Bruz.) Agardh (1824:124); 
em. Wood (1962*: 17). 
