Adjacent Words

nostoc definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: found in moist places as rounded jellylike colonies

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: New Latin Date: 1650 any of a genus (Nostoc) of usually filamentous cyanobacteria that fix nitrogen

Britannica Concise

Any of the cyanobacteria that make up the genus Nostoc. The cells are arranged in beadlike chains grouped together in a gelatinous mass. Ranging from microscopic to walnut-sized, nostoc masses may be found on soil and floating in still water. A special thick-walled cell has the ability to withstand drying for long periods of time. After 70 years of dry storage, cells of one species can germinate into filaments when moistened. Like most other cyanobacteria, nostocs contain two pigments and are capable of nitrogen fixation.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. any gelatinous blue-green unicellular alga of the genus Nostoc, that can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. Etymology: name invented by Paracelsus

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nostoc Nos"toc, n. [F.] (Bot.) A genus of alg[ae]. The plants are composed of moniliform cells imbedded in a gelatinous substance. Note: Nostoc commune is found on the ground, and is ordinarily not seen; but after a rain it swells up into a conspicuous jellylike mass, whish was formerly supposed to have fallen from the sky, whence the popular names, fallen star and star jelly. Also called witches' butter.