v12i2.314

Submitted date: 7 July 2022
Accepted date: 31 October 2023
Published date: 18 November 2023
Pp. 104–105, Pls. 29–30.

A new Ascomycetes fungus (Meliolaceae: Prataprajella) from Kerala, India

L.K. Mathew*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: linikmathew1985@gmail.com

Meliolaceae fungul species are biotrophic on the leaves and stems of plants and most species do not cause severe damage to the host plant. The genus Prataprajella Hosag. currently contains three species: P. turpiniicola (Hosag.) Hosag. 1992; P. subacuminata (W. Yamam.) B. Song & Y.X. Hu 1999; and P. rubi Hosag., C.K. Biju & T.K. Abraham 2005. I found an unknown fungal species infecting the leaves of Memecylon edule (Melastomataceae). Microscopic examination of the black mildew on the leaves revealed that it is a hitherto undescribed species. Hence, based on the host specificity and other morphological features, here I describe and illustrate a fourth species collected from Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary of Kozhikode District, Kerala, India.

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Section Editor: Samantha C. Karunarathna