Tests are underway on a mysterious white jelly like substance found on a lakeland fell, this week.
The substance found by walkers in the Patterdale area, has been sent to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh to be analysed.
‘Star Jelly’ as it has become known, due to a theory that it comes to earth with meteorites. Other ideas include the undigested remains of frogs or fish but despite these theories, no one has yet explained what it actually is.
The substance, which usually takes the form of a gelatinous milky white substance is said to evaporate quickly – especially when moved. It may contain algae or fungi but this is mostly thought to be from contaminated samples.
Star Jelly has been discovered in various forms since recordings began, other names for it include : Starshot, star slough and the Welsh “pwdre ser”, which means ‘Rot Of The Stars’. The last time it was discovered in the area, was 2009 when it was found all over South West Scotland, tests then by experts were inconclusive.
Despite tests on the substance by many experts the world over, no one has so far been able to come up with a conclusive explanation for it. Most experts believe it is nothing to do with the stars and may actually be related to plasmodium (slimes and algae) and fungi. It can even be sometimes explained as frog spawn or digested frogs in some cases, but not every case has been conclusively proved to be something earthly – yet.
I will however not lower the tone by commenting on what I think it looks like!!
Weird!