The condition or practice of being autoecious; the characteristic of a parasite that requires only one host plant species to complete its life cycle.
From autoecious + -ism suffix. A technical botanical and mycological term that emerged in the 19th century alongside modern parasite classification.
Autoecism is a survival strategy some fungi evolved—why bother finding multiple plants when you can master living on one? This single-host lifestyle makes some rusts extremely dangerous to specific crops.
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