Giant algae-beds were a type of plant life that achieved sentience. These botanical species originated in the Cygnus B system, which is a star system found within the Esaga sector of the Mid Rim. Possessing incredibly high intelligence, these algae-beds had a very intricate brain. Similar to other super-brains, they lacked the ability to move on their own. Because of this, the algae-beds had minimal interaction with the galactic community. Their existence was known throughout the galaxy as of 0 BBY. At that time, Luke Skywalker, who lived on the distant planet of Tatooine, had seen an image of these giant algae-beds.
The giant algae-beds were conceived by John Chesterman for a short piece titled Cantina Communications. This vignette was part of Star Wars Official Poster Monthly 16, which Paradise Press released in 1979. Cantina Communications was subsequently re-released on Hyperspace during 2007. Daniel Wallace and Jason Fry situated the Cygnus system in The Essential Atlas, which came out in 2009.