also: いしくらげ
star jelly; Nostoc commune
A terrestrial cyanobacterium that forms gelatinous colonies; often appears after rain. Also known colloquially as 'mare's eggs' or 'star jelly'.
After the rain, a lot of star jelly appeared in the garden.
I heard that star jelly is also edible.
Hiragana variant; less common than the katakana form but still encountered.
Ateji kanji spelling; rarely used in practice.
The name イシクラゲ literally means 'stone jellyfish', from 石 (ishi, 'stone') and 水母/海月 (kurage, 'jellyfish'), referring to its jelly-like appearance on stones. The exact derivation is uncertain.