Ascospores biseriate, hyaline, aseptate, fusoid to ovoid, often with tapered ends, smooth-walled, with granular contents, with or without a mucilaginous sheath. Conidiomata pycnidial in nature. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, hyaline, subcylindrical, proliferating percurrently with 1–2 proliferations and periclinical thickening. Conidia hyaline, aseptate, narrowly fusiform, or irregularly fusiform, base subtruncate to bluntly rounded, rarely GSK2126458 forming a septum before germination, smooth with granular contents (asexual morph description follows Slippers

et al. 2004b). Notes: As the type of Botryosphaeriaceae, Botryosphaeria was introduced with type species B. dothidea by Cesati and De Notaris (1863). In the original description, Mougeot (in Fries 1823, as Sphaeria dothidea), did not designate any type specimen but the collection from fallen branches of Fraxinus sp was

listed SRT1720 supplier in the reference. However, the only buy YM155 material under this name available in the Fries herbarium was described from Rosa sp. As no type material existed, Slippers et al. (2004b) designated a neotype for the remaining S. dothidea sample from Fries collection. The material, however, was immature as noted by von Arx and Müller (1954), and thus does not bear characteristics that would make it possible to clearly define the name. In order to stabilize the name, Slippers et al. (2004b) epitypified the type species Botryosphaeria dothidea based on morphology and phylogeny (combined multi-gene, ITS, EF1-α and β-tubulin). Numerous species have been described

in the genus Botryosphaeria, but later transferred to other genera (Crous et al. 2004, 2006; Phillips and Pennycook 2004; Phillips et al. 2005, 2008; Phillips and Alves 2009). Crous et al. (2006) restricted the use of Botryosphaeria to B. dothidea and B. corticis. In our phylogenetic trees, two additional species, namely B. agaves (which we have epitypified) and B. fusispora sp. nov. clustered in this clade. The asexual morphs of Botryosphaeria were reported as Dichomera, Diplodia, and Fusicoccum much (Crous and Palm 1999; Slippers et al. 2004b; Crous et al. 2006). Generic type: Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. : Fr.) Ces. & De Not. Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. : Fr.) Ces. & De Not., Comment Soc. crittog. Ital. 1:212 (1863). MycoBank: MB183247 (Fig. 12) Fig. 12 Botryosphaeria dothidea (PREM57372, epitype) a Ascostromata on host substrate b Section through ascostromata. c Peridium. d–e Asci. f–h Ascospores. Scale Bars: b–c = 100 μm, d–e = 30 μm, f–h = 10 μm ≡ Sphaeria dothidea Moug., in Fries, Syst. Mycol. 2: 423 (1823) = Botryosphaeria berengeriana De Not., Sfer. Ital. 82 (1863) [1864] = Fusicoccum aesculi Corda in Sturm, Deutschl. Fl., Abth. 3, 2:111 (1829) Hemibiotrophic or saprobic on leaves and wood. Ascostromata erumpent through the bark, 300–500 mm diam.