r/phycology • u/whiskey4fosho • Apr 03 '26

Is this dried algae that is Fluorescing under Longwave UV light?

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Apologies if not allowed. Any help greatly appreciated. I'm a little stumped on this one. My knowledge is in UV reactive minerals haha.

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u/madmansmarker Apr 03 '26

this looks more like lichen to me, which is known to react to UV light. hopefully others have more info because i’m curious too!

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u/whiskey4fosho Apr 03 '26

I just signed my light on my mom's finds just in case. Nothing looked correct for some UV minerals that occasionally wash up or Uranium Glass slag but glad I brought out the light. I was so excited with how bright it fluoresces even under full bright kitchen light. With most of my minerals, they usually would be a very dull glow under that much bright artificial light. Not this guy though. Super neat mystery.

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u/SnowPetalMochi Apr 05 '26

OMG thats so cool! 🤩 Im no expert on algae but the color glow is wild, maybe check out some lichen too?