Cercosporoid fungi (former Cercospora s. lat.) represent one of the largest groups of hyphomycetes belonging to the Mycosphaerellaceae (Ascomycota). They include asexual morphs, asexual holomorphs or ...species with mycosphaerella-like sexual morphs. Most of them are leaf-spotting plant pathogens with special phytopathological relevance. The only monograph of Cercospora s. lat., published by Chupp (1954), is badly in need of revision. However, the treatment of this huge group of fungi can only be accomplished stepwise on the basis of treatments of cercosporoid fungi on particular host plant families. The present first part of this series comprises an introduction, a survey on currently recognised cercosporoid genera, a key to the genera concerned, a discussion of taxonomically relevant characters, and descriptions and illustrations of cercosporoid species on other fungi (mycophylic taxa), Pteridophyta and Gymnospermae, arranged in alphabetical order under the particular cercosporoid genera, which are supplemented by keys to the species concerned. The following taxonomic novelties are introduced: Passalora austroplenckiae comb. nov., P. backmanii comb. nov., P. condensata comb. nov., P. gymnocladi comb. nov., P. thalictri comb. nov., Pseudocercospora davalliicola sp. nov., P. chamaecyparidis comb. nov., P. cratevicola nom. nov., P. gleicheniae comb. nov., P. lygodiicola sp. nov., P. lygodiigena nom. nov., P. nephrolepidigena sp. nov., P. paraexosporioides sp. nov., P. pini-densiflorae var. montantiana comb. et stat. nov., P. pteridigena sp. nov., P. ptisanae sp. nov., P. sciadopityos sp. nov., P. subramanianii nom. nov., P. thujina comb. nov., and Zasmidium australiense comb. nov.
Phyllosticta capitalensis
is an endophyte and weak plant pathogen with a worldwide distribution presently known from 70 plant families. This study isolated
P. capitalensis
from different host plants ...in northern Thailand, and determined their different life modes. Thirty strains of
P. capitalensis
were isolated as endophytes from 20 hosts. An additional 30 strains of
P. capitalensis
from other hosts and geographic locations were also obtained from established culture collections. Phylogenetic analysis using ITS, ACT and TEF gene data confirmed the identity of all isolates. Pathogenicity tests with five strains of
P. capitalensis
originating from different hosts were completed on their respective host plants. In all cases there was no infection of healthy leaves, indicating that this endophyte does not cause disease on healthy, unstressed host plants. That
P. capitalensis
is often isolated as an endophyte has important implications in fungal biology and plant health. Due to its endophytic nature,
P. capitalensis
is commonly found associated with lesions of plants, and often incorrectly identified as a species of quarantine importance, which again has implications for trade in agricultural and forestry production.
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