Nostoc - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

nos·toc

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–noun

any freshwater, blue-green alga of the genus Nostoc, often occurring in jellylike colonies in moist places.

[Origin: 1640–50; < NL, coined by Paracelsus

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Nostoc

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

nos·toc Audio Help (nŏs'tŏk') Pronunciation Key
n. A freshwater blue-green alga of the genus Nostoc, forming spherical colonies of filaments embedded in a gelatinous substance.

[New Latin, coined by Paracelsus.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

nostoc
noun
found in moist places as rounded jellylike colonies

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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