“Visions of Algae in 18^th-Century Botany”, Ryan Feigenbaum2016-09-07 (biology, design, PD Review)⁠:

Although not normally considered the most glamorous of Mother Nature’s offerings, algae has found itself at the heart of many a key moment in the last few hundred years of botanical science.

Ryan Feigenbaum traces the surprising history of one particular species—Conferva fontinalis—from the vials of Joseph Priestley’s laboratory to its possible role as inspiration for Shelley’s Frankenstein.