Micro-fungi in southern China and northern Thailand: emphasis on medicinal plants

This study documents the morphology and phylogeny of micro-fungi collected from various medicinal plants in southern China and northern Thailand. Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses, 99 species were identified, classified within one phylum (Ascomycota), spanning three classes (Dothideomycetes, Leotiomycetes and Sordariomycetes), 16 orders, 36 families and 67 genera. We introduce one new order, Oncopodiellales, two new families, Catenuliconidiaceae and Oncopodiellaceae, one new genus, Biascospora, and 48 new species: Achroiostachys brunnea, A. catenata, Amphisphaeria hibiscicola, Apiculospora thailandensis, Arecophila maolanensis, A. yunnanensis, Barriopsis caryotae, Biascospora chishuiensis, Conioscypha synnemata, Diaporthe ervatamiae, D. kunmingensis, D. tuchungicola, Dictyocheirospora xishuiensis, Diplocladiella hainanensis, Distoseptispora gelatinosa, D. olivaceoviridis, Gregatothecium diflugossae, Helicosporium multiseptatum, Helminthosporium thailandicum, Kalmusia tetrastigmae, Keissleriella yunnanensis, Lasiodiplodia houttuyniae, L. liliacearum, Leptospora houttuyniae, Lophiotrema asexuale, L. guizhouense, Melanopsamma tongrenensis, Memnoniella chiangmaiensis, Murichromolaenicola dendrobii, Heleiosa brunnea, Neohelicascus guizhouensis, Neohelicomyces sexualis, Neohendersonia tongrenensis, Neomassaria fibraureae, Neoscytalidium dendrobii, Parabahusutrabeeja hyalina, Paramyrothecium xishuiense, Phaeosphaeria boehmeriae, P. guiyangensis, Phaeosphaeriopsis oblongispora, Psiloglonium bambusicola, P. brunneum, P. guizhouense, Roussoella panzhouensis, Seriascoma guizhouense, Striaticonidium olivaceobrunneum, Vamsapriya chiangraiensis and Virgatospora thailandica, with illustrations, discussions of their taxonomic placement, and comparisons with morphologically similar taxa. Twelve new combinations are introduced: Conioscypha chiangmaiensis (≡ Vanakripa chiangmaiensis), C. minutiellipsoidea (≡ Vanakripa minutiellipsoidea), Conioscypha obovoidea (≡ Vanakripa obovoidea), Heleiosa guizhouensis (≡ Neoheleiosa guizhouensis), H. lincangensis (≡ Neoheleiosa lincangensis), Keissleriella acaciae (≡ Pleurophoma acaciae), K. italicum (≡ Pleurophoma italica), K. ossicula (≡ Pleurophoma ossicola), K. pleurospora (≡ Phoma pleurospora), Phaeosphaeria brachylaenae (≡ Didymocyrtis brachylaenae), P. pini (≡ Didymocyrtis pini) and P. septata (≡ Didymocyrtis septata). Additionally, we report 34 new host records from medicinal plants and seven new geographical records for China and Thailand. We also resolved inter-generic synonymy for two species. A reference specimen is designated for Diplocladiella taurina. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of all these taxa are provided.