endophyte
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- noun An organism, especially a fungus or microorganism, that lives inside a plant, in a parasitic or mutualistic relationship.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun Any organism that lives inside another plant
Examples
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An endophyte is a fungus that is invisible to the naked eye and grows inside the plant, producing natural insecticides that protect the plant.
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Also smaller vertebrate herbivores, such as rodents, are commonly negatively affected by endophyte ingestion.
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If you are concerned about the quality of your pasture and the level of endophyte infection, it might be better to re-establish the pasture using endophyte-free fescue or change to other grasses that don't have an endophyte problem.
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Fescue can be a host to a type of fungus called an endophyte, a term meaning a plant within a plant (endo = within and phyte = plant).
Note
The word 'endophyte' comes from Greek roots meaning 'inside' and 'plant'.
