Arthrospira maxima
Setchell & N. L. Gardner
Tecuitlatl
OscillatoriaceaeSeaweed
wikimedia · cc0
Wikimedia Commons - Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute
Wikimedia Commons - Jawahar Swaminathan and MSD staff at the European Bioinformatics Institute
wikimedia · cc-by
Wikimedia Commons - Anatoly Mikhaltsov
Wikimedia Commons - Anatoly Mikhaltsov
wikimedia · cc-by-sa
Wikimedia Commons - Alberto A. Esteves-Ferreira, João Henrique Frota Cavalcanti, Marcelo Gomes Marçal Vieira Vaz, Luna V. Alvarenga, Adriano Nunes-Nesi and Wagner L. Araújo. Credits: The picture of Arthrospira maxima (c) was kindly provided by the Culture Collection of Autotrophic Organisms (CCALA), http://ccala.butbn.cas.cz and the picture of Trichodesmium sp. (d) by Prof. Ondøej Práil, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic. The other pictures are from strains kept at Collection of Cyanobacteria and Microalgae from Universidade Federal de Viçosa (CCM-UFV).
Wikimedia Commons - Alberto A. Esteves-Ferreira, João Henrique Frota Cavalcanti, Marcelo Gomes Marçal Vieira Vaz, Luna V. Alvarenga, Adriano Nunes-Nesi and Wagner L. Araújo. Credits: The picture of Arthrospira maxima (c) was kindly provided by the Culture Collection of Autotrophic Organisms (CCALA), http://ccala.butbn.cas.cz and the picture of Trichodesmium sp. (d) by Prof. Ondøej Práil, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic. The other pictures are from strains kept at Collection of Cyanobacteria and Microalgae from Universidade Federal de Viçosa (CCM-UFV).
What to Eat
Edible parts: Algae
Made into soups and cake-like foods, and cultured as a food supplement.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in Lake Chad in Africa and Lake Texcoco in Mexico. It grows in freshwater,
Africa, Central Africa, Central America, Chad, Europe, Mexico, North America, Romania,
Countries: Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Angola, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Burundi, Benin, Bahamas, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Switzerland, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Estonia, Egypt, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Madagascar, North Macedonia, Mali, Mauritania, Malta, Mauritius, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Trinidad & Tobago, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, United States, St Vincent, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How to Identify
A blue-green algae found in tropical freshwater environments, particularly in Lake Chad in Africa and Lake Texcoco in Mexico.
Names & Synonyms
Spirulina maxima (Setchell & N. L. Gardner) Geitler
References (4)
- Clement, G., Giddey, C., and Merzi, R., 1967, Amino acid composition and nutritive value of the alga Spirulina maxima. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 18:497-501 (As Spirulina maxima)
- Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 262 (As Spirulina maxima)
- Kiple, K.F. & Ornelas, K.C., (eds), 2000, The Cambridge World History of Food. CUP p 233 (As Spirulina maxima)
- Macmillan, H.F. (Revised Barlow, H.S., et al), 1991, Tropical Planting and Gardening. Sixth edition. Malayan Nature Society. Kuala Lumpur. p 348 (As Spirulina maxima)
