The scientific study of fungi (plural for fungus) is called mycology, from the Greek word mycote, meaning “fungus.” The first scientific mention of a fungus was in Europe during the mid-1500s—the potato “late blight” (Phytophthora infestans) that was introduced from South America, devastating the potato crops; this blight was first recorded in the United States in 1830. Interestingly enough, the late blight was eventually found to be not caused by a fungus, but by a protist. (For more about late blight, see the chapter “Bacteria, Viruses, and Protists.”)