The Ceraceosorales are an order of

smut fungi The smuts are multicellular fungi characterized by their large numbers of teliospores. The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for dirt because of their dark, thick-walled, and dust-like teliospores. They are mostly Ustilaginomycetes (phylum ...

in the class

Exobasidiomycetes The Exobasidiomycetes are a class of fungi sometimes associated with the abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues known as galls. The class includes '' Exobasidium camelliae'' Shirai, the camellia leaf gall and ''Exobasidium vaccinii'' Erikss, the le ...

. It is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

order, consisting of a single

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, the Ceraceosoraceae, which in turn contain a single monotypic genus, ''Ceraceosorus''. ''C. bombacis'' is a fungus that infects the tree ''

Bombax ceiba ''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...

'' in India. This economically important tree is used as an ornamental tree. Ceraceosorales was circumscribed in 2006; the family Ceraceosoraceae was validated in 2009. ''C. bombacis'' was originally described as ''Dicellomyces bombacis'' in 1973, but B.K. Bakshi transferred it to the newly described ''Ceraceosorus'' three years later.

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Ustilaginomycotina Monotypic fungus taxa Taxa described in 2006 {{Basidiomycota-stub