"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Stressed wrote:
> > If you scrub the mold off of a potato, is it ok to eat? I say no, my
> > husband thinks it's alright. Thank you.
>
> Potatoes are subject to myriad diseases.
>
> A common tuber disease is Rhizoctonia or black scurf. This fungal
> disease is characterized by small, irregular black patches on the tuber
> surface. These patches, called "sclerotia,"

Are you *certain* you have the right word there?

"n. pl. scle·ro·ti·a (-sh-, -sh)
A dense mass of branched hyphae, as in certain fungi, that contain stored
food and are capable of remaining dormant for long periods.

[New Latin, from Greek sklrots, hardness, from sklros, hard.]"

Truffles are sclerotia.




Shaun aRe - Bit of a fungiphile.