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Star Jelly
Nostoc commune
34.7465, -92.2896
Field Notes
Description:
An alien-looking but edible cyanobacteria (relative of Nostoc flaggeliforme, or facai, a delicacy in the region of China where I lived for a while) that grows in dense soil, like the clay mixture where I found it. Wet, it looks like a mass of deflated balloons. Dried out, it becomes a thin dark crust that isn't dead but dormant.
Habitat:
Growing in our front yard, in a sandy clay soil type. Spotted after rain.
Notes:
Lots of fun nicknames for this one: star jelly, witch's butter, mare's eggs, soil algae (though not a true algae).
Species ID Suggestions
Spotted for Missions
Photographed
PublishedJune 27, 2014
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