A novel species of Pestalotiopsis causing leaf spots of Trachycarpus fortunei

Specimens of a new Pestalotiopsis species were obtained from leaves of Trachycarpus fortunei from Kunming Botany Garden, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, where it caused serious leaf blotch and defoliation in the garden. Single ascospore isolates from the teleomorph produced identical colonies with black slimy conidial masses. Morphological characteristics of the conidia produced in culture accorded well with the genus Pestalotiopsis. Based on morphological characters and molecular analysis, Pestalotiopsis trachicarpicola sp. nov. is introduced and both its asexual and sexual forms are described.