Closterium gracile Brébisson ex Ralfs 1848


Division     Charophyta
Class     Zygnematophyceae
Order     Desmidiales
Family    Closteriaceae
SynonymClosterium limneticum var. tenue Lemmermann; Closterium gracile var. tenue (Lemmermann) West & G.S.West; Closterium gracile var. elongatum West & G.S.West; Closterium gracile f. elongatum (West & G.S.West) Kossinskaja; Closterium gracile f. tenue (Lemmermann) Kossinskaja

    Cells long, straight, slender, 14-40 times longer than broad with parallel margins, gradually attenuated into narrow, slightly curved poles; apices obtusely rounded; cell wall smooth, girdle band absent; chloroplast lamellate, pyrenoids 5-7 arranged in a row. Cells 105-260 µm in length, 4-17 µm in breadth, 2-4.5 µm broad at apices.


Ecology

It occurs as plankton and prefers alkaline, mineral reach, meso-to eutrophic water bodies.


Distribution in India

Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu; Uttar Pradesh (Gupta, 2012).