botrytis

[boh-trahy-tis]

noun

1. any imperfect fungus of the genus Botrytis, having the conidia in grapelike bunches: a major cause of plant disease.

2. noble rot.

botrytis

/ bɒtˈraɪtɪs /

noun

1. any of a group of fungi of the genus Botrytis , several of which cause plant diseases

2. winemaking a fungus of this genus, Botrytis cinerea , which causes noble rot

Word History and Origins

Origin of botrytis¹

< New Latin (1832) < Greek bótry ( s ) bunch of grapes + New Latin -( ī ) tis -itis

Example Sentences

Tokaji is born in a harsh climate that veers from bitter winter to blazing summer, a climate that makes the grapes suffer beautifully for their art and also perfectly suits the growth of a gray fungus called Botrytis cinerea, usually known as “noble rot.”

Read more on Seattle Times

This is particularly appropriate because Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus, meaning it kills its host and then feasts on the remains — a natural vampire that creates something almost immortal out of its predation.

Read more on Seattle Times

Keanumycins also fight Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that produces mold on plants and more than 200 types of food, including grapes and strawberries, according to the news release.

Read more on Washington Post

The authors cooked up a broth of bacteria that produce keanumycin and applied it to a hydrangea plant covered with the fungus Botrytis cinerea, a common blight among greenhouse crops like tomatoes and strawberries.

Read more on New York Times

Freshly-harvested roses, for instance, are then dipped into a chemical mixture to protect them from the fungus, botrytis.

Read more on BBC