Nostoc n. (Bot.) A genus of algae. 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, which was formerly supposed to have fallen from the sky, whence the popular names, fallen star and star jelly. Also called witches' butter.
... the organic 'nostoc' (masses which have been supposed since the Middle Ages to be connected with shooting stars), and those pyrites of Sterlitamak, west of the Uralian Mountains, which are said to have constituted the interior of hailstones,* must both be classed among the ... — COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 • Alexander von Humboldt
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