Editing Marimo (section)

== Cultural aspects ==
[[File:Marimo-youkan.JPG|thumb|''[[Yōkan]]'' confection shaped like marimo, sold near [[Lake Akan]]]]
[[File:Aegagropila conical flask.jpg|thumb|''A. linnaei'' grown in a conical flask at home.]]
Marimo balls are a rare curiosity. In Japan, the [[Ainu people]] hold a three-day marimo festival every October at Lake Akan.<ref name="marimo-festival" /><ref name="nytimes">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/science/marimo-floating-algae-balls.html|title=The Mysterious Green Orbs That Float by Day and Sink at Night|last=Klein|first=JoAnna|date=2018-08-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Because of their appealing appearance, the lake balls also serve as a medium for [[environmental education]]. Small balls sold as [[souvenir]]s are hand rolled from free-floating filaments.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} A widely marketed [[stuffed toy]] character known as [[Marimokkori]] takes the anthropomorphic form of the marimo algae as one part of its design.

Marimo are sometimes sold for display in aquariums, typically cultivated in [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] lakes such as the [[Shatskyi Lakes]].<ref name="population-decline" /> Balls sold in Japanese aquarium shops are of European origin,<ref name="population-decline" /> as collecting them from Lake Akan is prohibited.<ref name="nytimes" /> 

In the manga [[One Piece]] and its adaptation, the Straw Hat Crew's swordsman, Zoro, is often referred to as "Marimo Head" due to his spiky green hair.