Science Art: Flower of Polygonum persicarium distorted by Utricle smut and following figures, by J.E. Sowerby, 1872.

Scientific illustration of smut growing on seeds and tiny flowers, seen very close up
Scientific illustration of smut growing on seeds and tiny flowers, seen very close up

This is a bunch of smut. Mostly, it’s smut in the genus Ustilago growing on plants in the same genus as knotweed and buckwheat. The long flower in the middle is Polygonum hydropiper, otherwise known as Persicaria hydropiper, or water pepper, marshpepper knotweed, or (and I’m not lying) arse smart. It’s edible and has served as a substitute for green bell pepper in the past. But not so much when it’s smutty.

So this is smutty arse smart and relatives.

Smut, if you weren’t aware, is a parasitic fungus that feeds on the seeds of plants. If you’re trying to grow corn or barley, or in this case buckwheat, it can be bad news. So some botanists study smut as if our next meals depended on it.

This illustration was excerpted from Plate VI of Rust, Smut, Mildew, & Mould : An introduction to the study of microscopic fungi, by J.E. Sowerby (who illustrated it) and M.C. Cooke. I found it in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.