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corn smut
Sign in to saveAlso known as Ustilago maydis, Mexican truffle, corn mushroom
species of edible fungus
OverviewAI-generated
Corn smut, scientifically named *Ustilago maydis*, is a species of fungus. It belongs to the parent taxon *Ustilago* and is classified as an edible mushroom. The organism is also referred to by the common names parddu indrawn, sněť kukuřičná, Majssot, and 玉蜀黍黑穗菌. Its taxon author citation is (DC.) Corda, and it is often abbreviated as *U. maydis*.
The fungus is categorized under the iconic taxon Fungi. It has been recorded in 2,883 observations on iNaturalist. Additionally, the subject is referenced by 427 other encyclopedia articles.
Synthesized by Vinony from 16 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, iNaturalist, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Species
Corn Smut
species
Ustilago maydis Le charbon du maïs est une maladie du maïs causée par un champignon pathogène, Ustilago maydis. Au Mexique, les grains infectés sont appelés huitlacoche ; ils sont considérés comme un mets recherché, . Il y est vendu sur les marchés, tandis que d'autres régions du monde (y compris les États-Unis) continuent de rejeter ce produit comme ingrédient alimentaire. Ustilago maydis attaque aussi bien le maïs (Zea mays) que le genre voisin téosinte (Euchlena mexicana). Bien qu'il soit capable d'infecter n'importe quelle partie de la plante, les attaques les plus fréquentes touchent les ovaires et transforment les grains normaux de l'épi de maïs en grandes tumeurs difformes analogues à des champignons. Les spores noires produites par ces tumeurs donnent à l'épi un aspect roussi et brûlé. De fait, le nom du genre Ustilago dérive du verbe latin ustilare (brûler).
via
Key facts
- Common names
- huitlacoche (Mexico), blister smut of maize, boil smut of maize, common smut of maize
- Causal agents
- Mycosarcoma maydis
- Hosts
- maize and teosinte
- Eppo code
- USTIMA
- Distribution
- Worldwide, where corn is grown
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- edible mushroom
- Parent taxon
- Ustilago
- Image
- NFDI4BIOIMAGE Calendar December 2025 - image december.png
Show 7 more facts
- Commons category
- Ustilago maydis
- taxon name
- Ustilago maydis
- taxon rank
- species
- Commons gallery
- Ustilago maydis
- taxon common name
- morniu
- taxon author citation
- (DC.) Corda
- short name
- U. maydis
via Wikidata · CC0
~14 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Corn smut is a plant disease caused by the pathogenic fungus Mycosarcoma maydis, synonym Ustilago maydis. One of several cereal crop pathogens called smut, the fungus forms galls on all above-ground parts of corn species such as maize and teosinte. The infected corn is edible; in Mexico, it is considered a delicacy, called huitlacoche, often eaten as a filling in quesadillas and other tortilla-based dishes, as well as in soups.
Taxonomy
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “corn smut” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.