Clustered Stonewort vs Great Tassel Stonewort

Tolypella glomerata compared with Tolypella prolifera

Key Differences

• Clustered Stonewort is Vulnerable while Great Tassel Stonewort is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clustered Stonewort	Great Tassel Stonewort
Kingdom same	Plantae (식물)	Plantae (식물)
Phylum same	Charophyta (윤조식물)	Charophyta (윤조식물)
Class same	Charophyceae (윤조강)	Charophyceae (윤조강)
Order same	Charales (차축조과)	Charales (차축조과)
Family same	Characeae	Characeae
Genus same	Tolypella	Tolypella
Species	Tolypella glomerata	Tolypella prolifera

Evolutionary Relationship

Clustered Stonewort and Great Tassel Stonewort share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Tolypella.

Conservation Status

Clustered Stonewort

VU — Vulnerable

Great Tassel Stonewort

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clustered Stonewort	Great Tassel Stonewort
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clustered Stonewort

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Great Tassel Stonewort

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Clustered Stonewort

Tolypella glomerata, the clustered stonewort, is a charophyte alga in the family Characeae, found in calcareous, nutrient-poor freshwater habitats including lakes, ponds, ditches, and slow-flowing water in northwestern and northern Europe. Charophytes are macroscopic green algae with a distinctive whorl-like arrangement of branches and a complex, plant-like structure that distinguishes them from other algae. T. glomerata is encrusted with calcium carbonate deposits (hence 'stonewort'), giving it a pale, grey-green appearance and rough texture. The species colonizes clear, low-nutrient water over fine sediment or gravel substrates where competition from vascular plants is reduced by nutrient limitation. It is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, reflecting significant declines driven by eutrophication (nutrient enrichment from agriculture and sewage), which promotes the growth of vascular plants and phytoplankton that shade out stoneworts. Drainage, water abstraction, and peat cutting also threaten its habitats. Charophyte diversity has declined substantially across lowland Europe and North America over the past century, with many species becoming locally extinct from sites they once colonized.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden