Chara curta Lesser Bearded Stonewort

A simple water plant with whorls of narrow leaf-like branches along its length. It is fairly slender, with the whorls far apart, and has clusters of little spines.

It grows in shallow pools, often on chalk or limestone soils. It can be found at about fifty sites scattered over Britain and Northern Ireland, and flourishes especially in Orkney and Shetland.

Nutrient enrichment of the water from fertilisers is probably its main threat, but it is also threatened by shade cast by scrub and other large emergent plants.

Classified as Near Threatened.