Dictionary entry

Melanconiales

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Mel′an‐co′ni‐a″les (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Melanconium, name of the typical genus, fr. Gr. � black + � dust, in allusion to the dark spores.] (Bot.) The smallest of the three orders of Fungi Imperfecti, including those with no asci nor pycnidia, but as a rule having the spores in cavities without special walls. They cause many of the plant diseases known as anthracnose.