Our warm, wet spring has provided ideal conditions for the rise of a strange looking organism with a scientific name that sounds like a '70s California happening: Nostoc commune. This bizarre organism may look as if an agglomeration of rubbery yellowish-green to bluish-black material is "bubbling-up" in the open spaces in Ohio landscapes as well as gravel driveways. During periods of dry weather, the odd-looking masses collapse and turn black.