Mycosphere Essay 6: Why is it important to correctly name Colletotrichum species?

Colletotrichum is one of the most important plant pathogenic genera worldwide. There have been many studies on this genus, as species are important in many disciplines, especially in plant disease diagnostics. In this paper we discuss the importance of accurately naming Colletotrichum species. In most cases we conclude that it is important to know the correct identity of species, as the name is the key to all data for that taxon. The entire knowledge and data on a species relies on it being correctly named. The naming of Colletotrichum species have become mostly fit-for-purpose, with the use of molecular data. The aim of this contribution is to illustrate the importance of naming Colletotrichum species using several essential examples.