Bad-smelling Alkanet vs

Alkanna maleolens compared with Chroococcus varius

Key Differences

• Bad-smelling Alkanet is Critically Endangered while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bad-smelling Alkanet
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Cyanobacteriia
Order	Boraginales (Boraginales)	Cyanobacteriales
Family	Boraginaceae	Microcystaceae
Genus	Alkanna	Chroococcus
Species	Alkanna maleolens	Chroococcus varius

Conservation Status

Bad-smelling Alkanet

CR — Critically Endangered

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bad-smelling Alkanet
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bad-smelling Alkanet

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Bad-smelling Alkanet

The Bad-smelling Alkanet (Alkanna maleolens) is a species in the genus Alkanna. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Chroococcus varius is a species of cyanobacteria in the family Chroococcaceae. The specific epithet varius, meaning variable or diverse, may reflect the morphological variability of this species across different environmental conditions, a characteristic shared by many cyanobacteria of the genus. Chroococcus species can show considerable plasticity in cell size, sheath color, and colony arrangement depending on growth conditions, which has historically complicated species-level identification. Chroococcus varius has been documented from freshwater and aquatic habitats, contributing to the diverse microflora of lakes, ponds, and slow-moving waters. Like other members of the genus, it consists of spherical cells in pairs or small groups enclosed within a gelatinous matrix. The cells perform oxygenic photosynthesis and contribute to primary production in their aquatic ecosystems. Cyanobacteria of the Chroococcaceae family are among the most ecologically generalist cyanobacterial groups, occupying habitats from polar regions to tropical freshwaters. Chroococcus varius has been recorded from European freshwater localities. The species is not assessed by the IUCN, reflecting the limited application of conservation frameworks to prokaryotic microorganisms.