ustilago

/ˌʌstɪˈleɪɡəʊ/

Etymology

From the genus name.

ustilago means any of the genus Ustilago of smut fungi, parasitic on grasses. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.

noun

Any of the genus Ustilago of smut fungi, parasitic on grasses.“It was generally believed, before the experiments made by M. Kuhn, but without any foundation, and upon simple conjecture, that the seminules or spores of the ustilagoes and uredoes of the cereals penetrate by the radicles of the plant in order to arrive, creeping by degrees, to the leaves and seeds of those vegetables.”