What are the strange, tangled clumps that wash up on Collier beaches?

Residents in Collier County have reported seeing string-like clusters on the beaches.

Burt and Gretchen Merical say they found the bunches while running on the beach in the morning, according to a recent article by Samantha Romero of NBC2.

“We saw huge clumps of it for about a hundred yards that were sporadic across the rest of the beach,” Burt explained.

They both wondered what the material was.

“I have three thoughts; we’re from Colorado, so it’s a different kind of snow. Aside from that, it’s shredded coconut or shredded paper that certain politicians did not want to be discovered,” Burt explained.

“I assume it’s some kind of seaweed,” Gretchen explained.

Dr. Mike Parsons, a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, believes it’s most likely manatee grass, or Syringodium.

“When it gets either chopped up or naturally breaks off into the water and then starts floating around, it gets transported out into the Gulf of Mexico with the outgoing tide,” Parsons explained.

He stated that the grass floats on the surface and bleaches in the sun. It may take weeks or months, but it eventually accumulates into clumps.

“My judgment would be more north, then offshore, followed by the winds and currents. It just blew everything inshore,” Parsons explained.

He stated that the clusters are prevalent enough that researchers recognize them, but they are also uncommon enough that when they appear, they are noticeable.

According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, there are roughly 52 kinds of seagrasses globally, but only seven of them can be found in Florida’s maritime waters.

This article originally appeared on NBC2