A new species of Echidnodella (Asterinales, Lembosiaceae) from Western Ghats of Kerala State, India

Black mildews belong to a wide range of leaf inhabiting fungal genera, which causes severe damage to the living leaves, affect photosynthetic efficiency, cause physiological imbalances, and reduces the plants’ aesthetic value. During a survey of foliicolous fungi in Vagamon hills of Kerala state’s Western Ghats region, an endemic medicinal plant Xanthophyllum arnottianum was found infected with an undescribed species of black mildew causing fungal genus Echidnodella. Their mycelia are non-appressoriate and devoid of hypostroma. Thyriothecia are oval, ellipsoidal, X or Y shaped, elongated producing eight uniseptate brown coloured ascospores in each bitunicate asci. Echidnodella was distinguished from the allied genus Echidnodes in the absence of paraphyses and from the genera Lembosia and Morenoella in the lack of appressoria (haustoria). This new species, Echidnodella vagamonensis is described and illustrated in detail to provide the consolidated account of the species known on this host genus.

Exploring the overlooked diversity of plant-associated Cerrado Microfungi

In this review, we present an historic account of the work on the diversity of fungi associated with plants of the Cerrado Biome, including an overview of the studies carried out by the research group of the Mycological Collection connected to the Herbarium UB (Universidade de Brasília), and the rust fungi in Herbarium IBI (Instituto Biológico, São Paulo). The contributions to Cerrado mycology from the early 19th century to the present days were highlighted. Illustrative maps were included to show the geographical distribution of the main fungal groups, associated with native plants of the Cerrado, belonging to the five predominant orders: Pucciniales (rust fungi), Phyllachorales (tar-spot fungi), Capnodiales (cercosporoid fungi: Family Mycosphaerellaceae), as well as Meliolales and Asterinales (black mildews).

Two new species of asterinaceous fungi from Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra, India

The black mildews from Mahabaleshwar are under exploration, among which two species of Asterinaceous fungi occurring on Syzygium spp. (Myrtaceae) are found to be new. These species, viz. Asterina myrtacearum sp. nov. and Lembosia mahabaleshwarensis sp. nov. are reported in this paper. The detail morphological description, colour photographs, line drawings and discussions are provided here for each species.