Login

The word Scytonema has been derived from Greek word skytos, "leather" + nema, "thread". Scytonema is a genus of photosynthetic cyanobacteria that contains over 100 species. It grows as intricately fused filaments that form dark mats like S. oscillatum on wet rocks, damps barks of trees etc. Scytonema is a nitrogen fixer, and can provide fixed nitrogen to the leaves of plants on which it is growing. Some species of Scytonema form a symbiotic relationship with fungi to produce a lichen.