hə̇ˌlōshēˈā(ˌ)lēz, -ōd.ē- noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Helotium + -ales
: an order of fungi (subclass Euascomycetes) that are characterized by inoperculate asci borne in a disk-shaped to goblet-shaped sessile or stalked apothecium which may be brilliantly colored or dark and dull and that include numerous saprophytes and a few parasites of economically important plants — compare pezizales