An order of freshwater green algae including stoneworts, characterized by a jointed stem structure and calcified cell walls.
From the genus 'Chara' (from Greek 'charassein,' to mark or engrave) plus '-ales' (botanical suffix for order). Stoneworts were named for their brittle, marked appearance.
Charales are botanical time capsules—they're among the closest living relatives to the land plants that first conquered soil 450 million years ago, making them evolutionary cousins to every tree on Earth.
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