Is OIDIA a valid word?

OIDIA is the plural of OIDIUM, a thin-walled spore of certain fungi, and also a name for some powdery mildews of plants. It is a Latin plural that clears four vowels, O, I, I and A, with a single D, and it is one of the few words that uses two I tiles so neatly. Gardeners see oidia as the white dust of powdery mildew on squash and rose leaves. Fungus words make good vowel dumps because Latin plurals often end in A. The singular OIDIUM is valid too, if you have the U and M to spare.

Before any bonus squares: O 1 + I 1 + D 2 + I 1 + A 1 = 6. On a double-word square that's 12, on a triple-word 18, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Later in the game, put the D on a 3L square and OIDIA is worth 10 before any word bonus.

No other word in the list uses exactly the letters O, I, D, I and A.

OIDIA is the plural of OIDIUM, a kind of fungus spore.

• Vowel-heavy words

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