Rain may not be everyone’s favourite weather. It turns pathways to mud, may cause flooding in extreme weather events, and can make finding enough food difficult for many wild creatures, but one organism that positively thrives on the dampness is the cynobacterium Nostoc.

Nostoc both fascinates and revolts me: fascinates because of its ability to survive in extreme conditions and its sinuous shapes, revolts because of its consistency and texture. I found this huge area of it on a walk along the coast a couple of days ago and just can’t resist sharing some photos. For more about Nostoc, see my blog Gloop, February 2018.