''Ustilago'' is a
genus of approximately 200
smut fungi parasitic on
grasses.
Uses
''Ustilago maydis'' is eaten as a traditional Mexican food in many parts of the country, and is even available canned. Farmers have even been known to spread the spores around on purpose to create more of the fungus. It is known in central Mexico by the
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
name
huitlacoche. Peasants in other parts of the country call it "hongo de maíz," i.e. "maize fungus."
The
genome of ''
U. maydis'' has bee
sequenced
See also
*
Corn smut
References
External links
*
Ustilago' at
Index Fungorum
Ustilaginomycotina
Fungal plant pathogens and diseases
Basidiomycota genera
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