ergot
noun
- the hard, reddish-brown or black, grainlike masses (sclerotia) of certain parasitic fungi (esp. genus Claviceps) that replace the kernels of rye or other cereal plants
- the disease in which this occurs; specif., the disease of rye caused by a species (Claviceps purpurea) of this fungus
- the dried sclerotia of the rye fungus from which several alkaloids are extracted that have the ability to contract blood vessels and smooth muscle tissue
- any of these alkaloids
See ergot in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(ûrˈgət, -gŏtˌ)
noun- A fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that infects various cereal plants and forms compact black masses of branching filaments that replace many of the grains of the host plant.
- The disease caused by such a fungus.
- The dried sclerotia of ergot, usually obtained from rye seed and used as a source of several medicinally important alkaloids and as the basic source of lysergic acid.
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