Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to give physiologists a thorough grounding in the morphology, taxonomy and ecology of the characean plant. The morphology of characean plants is depicted and explained, with specific examples of the morphological characteristics of different species or species groups that are used in physiological studies. The details of characean cellular structure in growing plants and in the reproductive organs are reviewed. The history of taxonomy and nomenclature is outlined, along with the most recent approaches to systematics (and what name to use for characean plants in physiological studies), and finally the patterns of characean plant distribution and requirements for growth in natural situations are explained and related to the culture and growth of characean plants for physiological studies.
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