blue-green algae

Definitions of blue-green algae

1. noun

   predominantly photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms containing a blue pigment in addition to chlorophyll; occur singly or in colonies in diverse habitats; important as phytoplankton
   synonyms: cyanobacteria

   types:

   nostoc

   found in moist places as rounded jellylike colonies

   trichodesmium

   large colonial bacterium common in tropical open-ocean waters; important in carbon and nitrogen fixation

   type of:

   eubacteria, eubacterium, true bacteria

   a large group of bacteria having rigid cell walls; motile types have flagella