B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 32. 2001 (Budapest, 2001)

Langangen, A.; Leghari, S. M.: Some charophytes (Charales) from Pakistan

Table 1. Some abiotic parameters of the lakes. pH Conductivity Hardness as Chloride uS/cm CaCO, mg/1 mg/1 Karoghangro lake 8.2-8.9 3620-9290 500-1150 1182-3190 Pateji lake 7.9-8.3 753-9900 525-584 Bakar lake 8.0-9.0 517-577 128-170 301-387 Kinjhar lake 7.9-8.7 304-435 84-138 25^10 found are Hydrilla verticillata, Myriophyllum verticillatum L., M. spicatum L., Najas minor, N. major, Potamogeton natans L., P. pectinatus, P. crispas L., Ranunculus aquatilis L., Nelumbium nelumbo (L.) Druce and N. lotus L. Free floating plants include Azolla pinnata R. Br., Lemna minor L., Spirodela polyrrhiza (L.) Schleiden and Salvinia rotundifolia Willd. Nitellopsis obtusa grows in depths between 1-3 m. Chara zeylanica grows in depths to 1.5-2 m on the margin of the lake and in surrounding ponds. The lake is situated in an area of sand dunes, and the bottom is sandy. Kinjhar (Kalri) lake A mesotrophic freshwater lake, 2-7.5 m deep. The colour of water is blue-green. The bottom sediments are calcareous or silty (Table 1), and the submerged vegetation is dominated by charophytes. Six species of charophytes are found: Nitella hyalina, Nitellopsis obtusa, Chara flaccida, C. contraria, C. zeylanica, C. globularis and C. connivens. Nitellopsis obtusa, C. globularis and C. connivens occur in deep water. DISCUSSION In total, 23 species of charophytes have been found in Pakistan so far. This article deals with 17 species found in the years 1996-1999 in different localities in Pakistan. The records given by FARIDI (1955) are mostly from North Pakistan, in an area around Lahore. These two works therefore cover most parts of the country, and provide an overview of the charophyte flora of Pakistan. Further investigations, especially in Baluchistan and the middle parts of the country, may yield other interesting findings. In this article we only concentrate on the 17 species found by us, as we have not seen specimens of the other 6 species found in Pakistan.