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Gelatinous substance sometimes found on the ground

Star jelly (also called astromyxin, astral jelly) is a gelatinous substance sometimes found on grass and less commonly on the branches of trees. According to folklore, it is deposited on the Earth during meteor showers. It is described as a translucent or grayish white gelatin that tends to evaporate shortly after having "fallen". Explanations have ranged from it being the remains of frogs, toads, or worms, to the byproducts of cyanobacteria, to being the fruiting bodies of jelly fungi or masses of amoeba called slime molds. A fourteenth century Latin medical glossary has an entry for uligo, described as "a certain fatty substance emitted from the earth, that is commonly called 'a star which has fallen'". Similarly, an English Latin dictionary from around 1440 has an entry for "sterre slyme" with the Latin equivalent given as assub (a rendering of Arabic ash shuhub, also used in medieval Latin as a term for a "falling" or "shooting" star). In Welsh it has been referred to as "pwdre ser" meaning "rot from the stars". The Oxford English Dictionary lists a large number of other names for the substance, with references dating back to the circa 1440 English Latin dictionary entry mentioned above: star fallen, star falling, star jelly, star shot, star slime, star slough, star slubber, star spurt, and star slutch. The slime mold Enteridium lycoperdon is called caca de luna ("moon's feces") by the locals in the state of Veracruz in Mexico. Another theory states that star jelly is most likely formed from the glands in the oviducts of frogs and toads. Birds and mammals eat the animals but not the oviducts which, when they come into contact with moisture, swell and distort, leaving a vast pile of jellylike substance sometimes also referred to as otter jelly.

Myxarium nucleatum, a clear, gelatinous fungus that grows on decaying wood. Observations made of star jelly in Scotland support the theory that one origin of star jelly is spawn jelly from frogs or toads, which has been vomited up by amphibian eating creatures. The German terms Sternenrotz (star snot) and Meteorgallerte (meteorite jelly) are known to refer to more or less digested frog spawn vomited by predators (Schlüpmann 2007). Scientists commissioned by the National Geographic Society have carried out tests on samples found in the United States, but have failed to find any DNA in the material. Nostoc, a type of fresh water blue green algae (cyanobacteria) forms spherical colonies made of filaments of cells in a gelatinous sheath. When on the ground, it is ordinarily not seen; but after rainfall, it swells up into a conspicuous jellylike mass which is sometimes called star jelly. Slime molds are possible causes, appearing suddenly, exhibiting a very gelatinous appearance at first and later changing to a dust like form which is dispersed by rain and wind. The colours range from a striking pure white as in Enteridium lycoperdon, to pink as in Lycogala epidendrum, to purple, bright yellow, orange, and brown.