Nostoc

Nostoc
Nostoc commune
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Cyanobacteria
Class:	Cyanophyceae
Order:	Nostocales
Family:	Nostocaceae
Genus:	Nostoc Vaucher, 1888, ex Bornet and Flahaul
Species
List Nostoc agglutinans Meneghini ex Kützing, 1849 Nostoc alatosporum Sant'Anna et al., 2007 Nostoc album N.L.Gardner, 1927 Nostoc alpinum Kützing, 1843 Nostoc ambiceps C.-C.Jao, 1940 Nostoc amplissimum Setchell, 1899 Nostoc anisococcum Sprengel, 1827 Nostoc antarcticum West & G.S.West, 1911 Nostoc apuanum De Notaris, 1869 Nostoc arctum Kützing, 1847 Nostoc arenarium Desmazières, 1865 Nostoc austinii H.C.Wood, 1873 Nostoc belmonticum C.G.M.Archibald, 1967 Nostoc bicalyptratum Skuja, 1937 Nostoc bornetii Gain, 1911 Nostoc borzioides S.Skinner & T.J.Entwisle, 2002 Nostoc brittoni N.L.Gardner, 1927 Nostoc caeruleum Lyngbye ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc caladarium H.C.Wood, 1868 Nostoc calcicola Brébisson ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc carneum C.Agardh ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc catenatum P.J.L.Dangeard, 1949 Nostoc cesatii Balsamo, 1863 Nostoc ciniflonum Tournefort ex Bornet, 1880 Nostoc citrisporum Prasad & Mehrotra, 1976 Nostoc coimbatorense Laloraya & Mitra, 1974 Nostoc comminutum Kützing, 1850 Nostoc commune Vaucher ex Bornet & Flahault, 1888 Nostoc conglomeratum Hirose, 1962 Nostoc copiosum Kogan & Jazkulieva, 1972 Nostoc cordubense C.H.Prosperi, 1985 Nostoc crassisporum Meneghini, 1837 Nostoc crassisporum Geitler, 1933 Nostoc cristatum Bailey, 1847 Nostoc cycadae Maruyama & Fukushima, 1963 Nostoc delpinoi Borzì, 1878 Nostoc depressum H.C.Wood, 1873 Nostoc desertorum Reháková & Johansen, 2007 Nostoc diamorphoticum Itzigsohn, 1857 Nostoc diplonema Montagne, 1857 Nostoc disciforme F.E.Fritsch, 1912 Nostoc edaphicum Kondrateva, 1962 Nostoc edule Montagne & Berkeley ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc elgonense Naumann, 1925 Nostoc ellipsoideum N.L.Gardner, 1927 Nostoc ellipsosporum Rabenhorst ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc endophytum Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc epilithicum Ercegovic, 1925 Nostoc expansum Harvey & Bailey, 1851 Nostoc filarzskyi G.De Toni, 1936 Nostoc flagelliforme Harvey ex Molinari-Novoa, Calvo-Pérez & Guiry, 2016 Nostoc flavicans Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1827 Nostoc fluviatile Liljeblad, 1816 Nostoc foliaceum Mougeot ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc fonticola Brabez, 1941 Nostoc fragiforme (Roth) Brébisson, 1870 Nostoc fuscescens F.E.Fritsch, 1912 Nostoc fuscum Kützing, 1863 Nostoc gelatinosum Schousboe ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc ghotgewadense G.R.Hegde & K.Somanna, 1992 Nostoc glomeratum Kützing, 1850 Nostoc granulare (Kützing) Rabenhorst, 1865 Nostoc gregarium Thuret ex Kützing, 1849 Nostoc gymnosphaericum Kützing, 1843 Nostoc hatei S.C.Dixit, 1936 Nostoc heterothrix Zeller, 1873 Nostoc humifusum Carmichael ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc hyalinum Roemer, 1845 Nostoc hyalinum A.W.Bennett, 1886 Nostoc hydrocoleoides Reinsch, 1876 Nostoc imperfectum Schwabe & El Ayouty, 1966 Nostoc indistinguendum Reháková & J.R.Johansen, 2007 Nostoc insulare Borzì, 1907 Nostoc interbryum Sant'Anna et al., 2007 Nostoc intestinale G.S.An, 1992 Nostoc inundatum Kützing, 1843 Nostoc kihlmanii Lemmermann, 1900 Nostoc koraiense G.S.An, 1990 Nostoc krishnamurthyi S.Chandra, 2005 Nostoc lacerum Kützing, 1843 Nostoc lacunosum Montagne, 1850 Nostoc lacustre Kützing, 1843 Nostoc leptonema Reinsch, 1876 Nostoc letestui Frémy, 1930 Nostoc lichenoides Vaucher ex Reháková & J.R.Johansen, 2007 Nostoc limosum Zeller, 1873 Nostoc linckia Bornet ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc littorale Kützing, 1842 Nostoc locularis G.S.An, 1992 Nostoc longstaffi F.E.Fritsch, 1912 Nostoc lophotelos G.S.An, 1992 Nostoc maculiforme Bornet & Flahault, 1888 Nostoc mamillosum C.-C.Jao, 1940 Nostoc maramorgellons Smith & Gerbaux, 2020 Nostoc margaritaceum (Kützing) Rabenhorst, 1865 Nostoc membranaceum N.L.Gardner, 1927 Nostoc microscopicum Carmichael ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc microtis Montagne, 1839 Nostoc minimum Currey, 1858 Nostoc minutissimum Kützing ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc minutum Desmazières ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc molle C.Agardh, 1827 Nostoc mougeotii Brébisson ex Kützing, 1849 Nostoc myriococcum Montagne, 1857 Nostoc nivale Kützing, 1849 Nostoc notarisii Franzoni, 1865 Nostoc nylstromicum Claassen, 1961 Nostoc opalinum A.W.Bennett, 1890 Nostoc oryzae (F.E.Fritsch) J.Komárek & K.Anagnostidis, 1989 Nostoc palmelioides Kützing Nostoc paludosum Kützing ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc papillosum Kurz, 1870 Nostoc paradoxum Welwitsch ex West & G.S.West, 1897 Nostoc parietinum Rabenhorst, 1863 Nostoc parmelioides Kützing ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc parvulum C.-C.Jao, 1940 Nostoc passerinianum Bornet & Thuret ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc pellucidum Kützing, 1843 Nostoc peloponnesiacum Kützing, 1849 Nostoc peltigerae Letellier, 1918 Nostoc polysaccum Reinsch, 1876 Nostoc polysporum Reinsch, 1876 Nostoc prismaticum Cesati, 1865 Nostoc pruniforme C.Agardh ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc pseudogelatinosum Claassen, 1961 Nostoc punctatum H.C.Wood, 1873 Nostoc punctiforme Hariot, 1891 Nostoc purpurascens Kützing, 1843 Nostoc purpureum Dickie, 1874 Nostoc ramosum Ercegovic, 1925 Nostoc repandum West & G.S.West, 1897 Nostoc reticulatum Roussel, 1806 Nostoc riabuschinskii Elenkin, 1914 Nostoc rupestre Kützing, 1849 Nostoc salsum Kützing, 1843 Nostoc saxatile Zeller, 1873 Nostoc segawae Okada, 1932 Nostoc sergianum Borzì, 1892 Nostoc shensiense C.C.Jao, 1948 Nostoc simulans N.L.Gardner, 1927 Nostoc sinuatum G.S.An, 1992 Nostoc sphaericum Vaucher ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc sphaeroides Kützing ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc sphaerosporum N.L.Gardner, 1927 Nostoc spinosum Tiwari, 1979 Nostoc subtilissimum Reinsch, 1890 Nostoc symbioticum F.V.Wettstein, 1915 Nostoc tenax Thuret, 1874 Nostoc tenuissimum (Kützing) Rabenhorst, 1865 Nostoc thermophilum Vouk, 1916 Nostoc thermotolerans Suradkar, 2017 Nostoc tibeticum C.-C.Jao & Y.Y.Lee, 1974 Nostoc torulosum Hirose, 1962 Nostoc trentepohlii Mohr, 1806 Nostoc tuberculosum Kützing, 1843 Nostoc undulatum Archibald, 1967 Nostoc vaillantii Behre, 1953 Nostoc variegatum Moore, 1841 Nostoc verrucosum Vaucher ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886 Nostoc vesicarium A.B.Frank, 1886 Nostoc viride Sant'Anna et al., 2007 Nostoc vulgare Schrank, 1812 Nostoc wartisporum Prasad et al., 1977 Nostoc wichmannii Weber-van Bosse, 1913 Nostoc willei N.L.Gardner, 1927 Nostoc wollnyanum Richter, 1884 Nostoc zetterstedtii Areschoug ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886

Nostoc, also known as star jelly, troll's butter, spit of moon, fallen star, witch's butter (not to be confused with the fungi commonly known as witches' butter), and witch's jelly, is the most common genus of cyanobacteria found in a variety of both aquatic and terrestrial environments that may form colonies composed of filaments of moniliform cells in a gelatinous sheath of polysaccharides.^[1] It may also grow symbiotically within the tissues of plants, providing nitrogen to its host through the action of terminally differentiated cells known as heterocysts. Nostoc is a genus that includes many species that are diverse in morphology, habitat distribution, and ecological function.^[2] Nostoc can be found in soil, on moist rocks, at the bottom of lakes and springs, and rarely in marine habitats. It may also be found in terrestrial temperate, desert, tropical, or polar environments.^[3]

The name Nostoc was coined by Paracelsus and is a combination of the English nostril and German Nasenloch "nose hole, nostril", likely due to appearance of many species colonies being similar to nasal mucus.^[4] When it is on the ground, a Nostoc colony is ordinarily not seen, but after a rain, it swells up into a conspicuous, jellylike mass, which was once thought to have fallen from the sky, hence the popular names, like star jelly, troll's butter, and witch's butter mentioned above.