The Collaborative International Dictionary
cyanobacterium \cyanobacterium\ pl. cyanobacteria \cyanobacteria\ [from the pigment phycocyanin.] any of a group of photosynthetic autotrophic prokaryotic microorganisms possessing characteristics of both bacteria and plants. When classed as bacteria, they are assigned to the Cyanobacteria; when classed as plants, they are assigned to the Cyanophyta. They were earlier named blue-green algae, a term less used now in technical discussions. Since the chlorophyll within the cyanobacteria is diffused throughout the cell, rather than being contained in chloroplasts, they are no longer thought of as true plants.
blue-green alga \blue"-green al"ga\ pl. blue"-green al"gae any of a group of photosynthetic microorganisms possessing characteristics of both bacteria and plants. When classed as bacteria, they are assigned to the Cyanobacteria; when classed as plants, they are assigned to the Cyanophyta. They are now known to be prokaryotic, and are usually called cyanobacteria in technical contexts. See cyanobacterium.
Wiktionary
n. (blue-green alga English)
WordNet
n. predominantly photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms containing a blue pigment in addition to chlorophyll; occur singly or in colonies in diverse habitats; important as phytoplankton [syn: cyanobacteria]
Usage examples of "blue-green algae".
It could recycle my wastes, filter my water, break down the solid residue, even feed me on the blue-green algae which would grow in the transparent, water-filled outer layers of the suit.
Silently, the thick-barreled bands of blue-green algae drank in the light and converted it to oxygen, writhing in their slow mindless dance just under the long mica skylight which ran along the spine of the ship.
At some point in the first billion years of life, cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, learned to tap into a freely available resource—.
They used their fingers to strain blue-green algae from the water and gobbled it down: a way of feeding that was another little gift of bipedalism.
First, a particularly resilient strain of blue-green algae would be bred over a number of years in laboratory conditions similar to those of the Venusian atmosphere.
In fact, all a gengineer would have to do would be to persuade the animal cells to play host to blue-green algae.
Another name for them is 'blue-green algae', which is wonderfully confusing.
Modern so-called blue-green algae are usually red or brown, but the ancient ones probably were blue-green.
And blue-green algae are really bacteria, whereas most other algae have cells with a nucleus and so are not bacteria.
Bigheaded carp cause blue-green algae to predominate, whereas Silver Chinese carp, which are phytoplankton eaters, produce a shift toward diatom algae.