Species of Nitella (Charophyceae, Charales) from Israel: Low species richness and rare occurrence

All available specimens, published records and results of the authors' own field studies have been consulted to update information about the distribution and ecology of Nitella species in Israel. Study of specimens from TELA and new collections confirmed the presence of N. mucronata and revealed N. hyalina and N. opaca, new species for the region studied. The previous record of N. oligospira in Israel is quite doubtful in light of its distribution range. The ecology of N. hyalina and N. mucronata in Israel is described. There is no difference between species composition of Nitella in Israel and both temperate and subtropical zones of Eurasia, the former being a strongly impoverished variant of the latter two. According to the available data, low species richness and rare occurrence seem to be common features of all current data sets for Nitella from all other states of Western and Central Asia.