Abstract
Cryptostegia madagascariensis is a plant native from Madagascar, belonging to the Apocynaceae that is invading the native vegetation in Northeast Brazil and threatening the unique riverine formations dominated by the carnauba palm. Individuals of C. madagascariensis cultivated in the campus of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, showing leaf spot symptoms of unknown etiology were observed. Two fungal species were found associated to such leaf spots: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and a new species of Pseudocercospora. The latter was named Pseudocercospora cryptostegiae-madagascariensis and described herein. The discovery of those two fungal pathogens on C. madagascariensis coincide with the recognition that the weedy vine that is involved in the infestations in the Northeast of Brazil is not Cryptostegia grandiflora as formerly reported. These mycological findings are of greater importance now since C. madagascariensis is likely to become a target for biological control together with its former status in Brazil of an ornamental plant of limited relevance.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Drs. I. Major and O. Herrera for their cooperation during the field work in Ceará, Dr. H. C. Evans for sharing his experience and thoughts on the topic and taking part in the field survey in Ceará. J. L. da Silva acknowledges financial support from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).
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da Silva, J.L., Barreto, R.W. & Pereira, O.L. Pseudocercospora cryptostegiae-madagascariensis sp. nov. on Cryptostegia madagascariensis, an Exotic Vine Involved in Major Biological Invasions in Northeast Brazil. Mycopathologia 166, 87–91 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-008-9120-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-008-9120-5