Seed-borne Botryosphaeria spp. from native Prunus and Podocarpus trees in Ethiopia, with a description of the anamorph Diplodia rosulata sp nov

Botryosphaeria spp. from seeds of the native afromontane forest tree species, Podocarpus falcatus and Prunus africana, in Ethiopia have been identified. This is achieved by combining anarnorph morphological characters and ITS sequence data. From a relatively small sample, four Botryosphaeria spp. were encountered. Two of the species from P. falcatus and the one from P. africana have not been previously described. The two species from P. falcatus were represented by only one isolate each and are not named here. The morphology of their Diplodia and Dothiorella anamorphs is, however, characterised. The anamorph of the other Botryosphaeria sp. from P. africana is described here as Diplodia rosulata sp. nov. Furthermore, B. parva is identified from P.falcatus based on ITS phylogeny. This species is also an important pathogen of various commercially important tree species in Ethiopia and elsewhere. This study highlights the ability of Botryosphaeria spp. to infect seeds and the possibility that they might be distributed in this way. The study also contributes to recent attempts to stabilize the taxonomy of Botryosphaeria anamorphs, especially regarding Diplodia, which is Currently in taxonomic disarray.