Nostoc

I’ve posted several Alerts over the years about the ancient cyanobacterium, Nostoc commune (Nc) and always cautioned that the mucilaginous mass can be as slippery as ice. I now have face-to-turf experience. Thankfully, the only thing hurt was my pride.

April showers are bringing forth rubbery yellowish-green or bluish-black blobs of the cyanobacterium, Nostoc commune (Nc). The ballooning blobs are the hydrated form of this ancient organism. Most of the time, it looks like a black, crusty substance devoid of life.

I received an e-mail message earlier this week with images showing colonies of a cyanobacterium, Nostoc commune, growing in openings created by turfgrass succumbing to some other issue. The sender asked me to identify the "black stuff" they believed was killing their lawn.