äˈwed.(ˌ)ō, äˈfe- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Maori
: a composite structure that occurs in New Zealand, that when dried and burned yields a useful black pigment, and that is made up of the mummified body of a caterpillar killed by the attack of a parasitic ascomycetous fungus ( Cordyceps robustus ) together with the elongated fruiting body of the fungus which projects from the neck of the mummy — called also vegetable caterpillar