Characeae of Fiji— WOOD 
25 
( 1962.3: 20 ) (ortfa. mut. ) , — "nom. ined., ( N. 
Gibbsiae ’ J. Gr. (herb. K).” 
description of FIJI material: Plants mo- 
noecious, (4~) 9“ 18 cm high, moderate in size, 
slender, light to dark green. Axes slender, (170-) 
250 (-465) ( 570) * ,/x in diameter; internodes 
(1/2— ) i__2 times as long as the branchlets, 1-4 
cm long. Branchlets, fertile , (6-) * 7-8 in a whorl, 
of normal size or reduced (0.6-1. 2 cm long), 
(X-) 2-3 (-4) -furcate into (4-) 5-6 (-8) sec- 
ondaries one of which is generally central and 
similar to the laterals, (3-) 4-5 tertiaries and 
(3-) 4-5 quaternaries; primaries 2 A- 3 /5 of the 
total branchlet length; sterile similar to unre- 
duced fertile branchlets. Dactyls , fertile and 
sterile similar, 3-4, 2 -celled, (600—) 800-2000 
/X long, (50-) 120 /X wide, basal cell tapering 
sharply to base of end cell or occasionally 
rounded distally, end cell conical and acute, 50- 
110 /x long, 30-35 ,/x wide, occasionally some- 
what mucronate. Heads not well formed, but 
young (uppermost 1-2 internodes) fertile axes 
commonly elongate while their branchlets are 
still immature giving the appearance of terminal 
or lateral inflorescences, rarely compact and 
headlike. Gametangia conjoined at (1st-) 2nd 
(-3d) lower branchlet nodes, generally absent 
from lowest; protandrous, antheridia early de- 
ciduous. Oogonia 1 (-2) at a node, (360-380-)* 
420-495 /x long (excluding coronula) and 
(270--) * 340-355 /x wide; convolutions 8-9 
(-10), the cells unwinding slightly at maturity 
beneath the coronula; coronula (20-) 45-50 /x 
high and (20-) 35-50 (-56)* /x wide, upper 
cells 11/2—2 (-3) times longer than the lowers. 
Oospores dull brown (slightly immature), 
(265-)* 315-340 /x long, 230-245 (-255) /x 
wide, 190 jtx thick; striae of 5-7 (-8) slightly 
flanged ridges; fossa 42-52 /x across; membrane 
granular papillate, possibly appearing somewhat 
reticulate when pressed under a coverslip, 10- 
12 (—16) papillae across fossa, 2-3 diameters 
apart and ca. 2 /x high. Antheridia 1 at a node, 
170-258 (-270)* g in diameter, slightly wider 
than high, apparently 8 -scutate. 
This species is easily recognized in Fiji be- 
cause of the delicate structure and tendency for 
repeatedly divided branchlets. Extreme examples 
which are more stout and have branchlets only 
1-2 -furcate can be checked under the microscope 
for the 2 -celled dactyls. 
The identity of the Fijian Nitella had been a 
matter of concern to the writer for some time. 
The existence of an endemic on an isolated mid- 
ocean island, apparently unrelated to species of 
adjacent continents, seemed remarkable. The 
present collections include complete sexual ma- 
terial and permit identification as N. pseudofla- 
bellata. There is wide variation among the Fiji 
specimens, and the original type of N. mathuatae 
represents but one expression— a stout form 
with 1-2 -furcate branchlets and occasional in- 
florescence-like apices. Based on original collec- 
tions alone, Zaneveld ( 1940:72) had thought it 
might be N. bipartita, and the writer (1962a: 
20) had referred it to N. gracilis var. leptosoma. 
The chromosome number of 18 differs from 
the only known prior reports of 24 from Japan 
(Imahori & Kato, 1961) and New Zealand 
(Hotchkiss, in press) . It suggests the possibility 
of a polyploid series. By contrast, numbers for 
the similar N. gracilis were reported as 17 by 
Lindenbein (1927) and 34 by Karling (1926). 
The local variants of N. pseudoflabellata form 
about six more or less distinctive categories, all 
of which appear to blend into one another. These 
include ones which are (1) glomerate, larger, 
denser upper whorls ( spec, ad ) ; (2) diffuse but 
uniform branching throughout (spec, a, h, x, aa, 
ac ) ; ( 3 ) inflorescence-producing upper whorls 
reduced and isolated along an elongated axis, 
also coupled with branchlets being only 2 -furcate 
(spec, k, p, r, v, w) — var. mathuatae 9 ( N. muth- 
natae T.F.A.); (4) elongate, intermediate be- 
tween 1 and 2, but with fewer furcations (spec, 
z); (5) bushy with very uniform, regular 
branchlets, with mature oogonia at central tip 
of each branchlet (spec. 1, m, q, af); and (6) 
very small, 2-4 cm high, slender and delicate, 
9 N. pseudoflabellata var. mathuatae (T.F. A.) 
R.D.W., comb . nov. ( basonym : N. muthnatae T. F. 
Allen (1887:211)). 
* Wood (in press) . 
