Genus Ustilago (Noun)
Meaning
Type genus of the Ustilaginaceae; genus comprising the loose smuts.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- The type genus Ustilago is the cause of the loose smut disease in various cereal crops.
- The genus Ustilago comprises several plant pathogenic fungi, particularly those that infect grasses and cereals.
- Ustilago species have distinctive teliospores that are typically olive brown to black in color.
- The genus Ustilago was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and the type species is Ustilago Hordei.
- Many species of Ustilago are parasitic on specific plant hosts, such as Ustilago maydis on corn.