Aufwuchs

Aufwuchs is a term used to cover the small animals and plants that encrust hard substrates, such as rocks, in aquatic environments. The name originated as a German term literally meaning "surface growth" or "overgrowth", and is frequently misspelled "awfuchs" or similar due to the unusual (for native English speakers) "-ufw-" combination. Indeed, the correct English pronunciation of "aufwuchs" can be rendered approximately as " 'owfvooks".