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Two specimens of a fresh-water alga from Santee Canal
1. Chara [later struck through] June 18 1851 submersed in Santee canal S.C.
about 100 yds south of White bridge HWR
[annotated:]
Nitella praelonga A Braun
Nitella spiculifera A. Braun [struck through]
new species, founded on these specimens 1856
2. Nitella praelonga A. Braun
n. sp.
1851 growing submerged in Santee Canal
HWRavenel S.C.
Current name: Nitella cernua A. Braun var. praelonga (A. Braun) Wood.
Ravenel made collections of this alga from the Santee Canal in 1851. He sent some of his specimens to George Engelmann in St. Louis, who forwarded them to Alexander Braun (1805-1877), a German botanist studying algae. Braun treated Ravenel's plants as a new species in 1856.
Ravenel lamented in 1876 that "the locality [of the algal collection] is now lost, as the old Santee Canal (cut nearly 100 years ago to connect the Santee and Cooper Rivers) has been abandoned since the opening of the North-Eastern Railroad. It may possibly be found in still water in the vicinity. My specimens were collected in June, when in bloom."
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