'Vermicelli' turns out to be manatee grass

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JUNE 01, 2009

Weird white stuff was washing up on Lee County Beaches over the weekend, and at first nobody was sure what it was.

One blogger termed the stuff “Sanibel slippery noodles.” A fishing guide told news-press.com, “It looks like white vermicelli or the tentacles of sea anemones. People were afraid to step on it.”

The mystery was solved when a research scientist at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Marine Laboratory identified the bleached-out material as manatee grass, also known as Syringodium filiforme.

“I’ve been here 50 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” the fishing guide said.

Posted by John Chamless at 4:27:06 pm on June 01, 2009 | Permalink | Comments |

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