Don’t worry, there’s nothing unappealing here. This is just sort of another type of plant. You are looking at a collection of cyanobacteria known as Nostoc. Cyanobacteria are a type of photosynthetic bacteria. This means that they capture energy from sunlight in the same manner as green plants.
Nostoc generally grows in areas of poor barren soil and is not really noticeable until heavy rains wash a bunch of it into a pile. This shot was taken along the edge of my gravel driveway. The same phenomenon occurs in the barrens, but the effect is not as dramatic as here.
A Nostoc colony is composed of long strands of bacteria contained within a gelatinous membrane. After being moved along by water, the colony looks like a green blob.
The blob can be rolled out to show that the colony is actually a thin layer. As the colony grows, this thin layer moves out across the soil surface. It requires moisture in order to function and grow. During times of dry weather the colonies dehydrate and resemble dark green or black cornflakes. Heavy rains hydrate the colonies and move them around.
Nostoc has the ability to convert atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms usable by plants. This makes the Nostoc a valuable aid to plants trying to colonize bare, low fertility soils. It’s also funny to hide a Nostoc colony in the palm of your hand and watch people’s reactions when they think you’ve sneezed out something really nasty.
Don’t worry, there’s nothing unappealing here. This is just sort of another type of plant. You are looking at a collection of cyanobacteria known as Nostoc. Cyanobacteria are a type of photosynthetic bacteria. This means that they capture energy from sunlight in the same manner as green plants.
Nostoc generally grows in areas of poor barren soil and is not really noticeable until heavy rains wash a bunch of it into a pile. This shot was taken along the edge of my gravel driveway. The same phenomenon occurs in the barrens, but the effect is not as dramatic as here.
A Nostoc colony is composed of long strands of bacteria contained within a gelatinous membrane. After being moved along by water, the colony looks like a green blob.
The blob can be rolled out to show that the colony is actually a thin layer. As the colony grows, this thin layer moves out across the soil surface. It requires moisture in order to function and grow. During times of dry weather the colonies dehydrate and resemble dark green or black cornflakes. Heavy rains hydrate the colonies and move them around.
Nostoc has the ability to convert atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms usable by plants. This makes the Nostoc a valuable aid to plants trying to colonize bare, low fertility soils. It’s also funny to hide a Nostoc colony in the palm of your hand and watch people’s reactions when they think you’ve sneezed out something really nasty.
