Aecial

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A cup-shaped fruiting body of a rust fungus that develops on a plant leaf and produces chains of spores
2. A structure formed by rust fungi on infected plant tissue that generates and releases aecispores through its cup-like opening
3. The flask-like or cup-formed reproductive organ of a rust fungus from which chains of spores are discharged

Etymology: Aecial is a term from plant pathology, describing the structures and life-cycle stage of rust fungi. Many rusts need two unrelated host plants to complete their life cycle, and one stage produces a cup-shaped, spore-bearing structure called an aecium. The adjective refers to anything connected with that structure or stage. "Aecium" is a New Latin coinage, formed from Greek roots. It likely derives from the Greek "aikía," meaning "wound" or "injury," probably because the spore cups break through the host leaf's tissue. The adjective simply adds the English suffix "-al" to the noun.