A new leaf spot disease of Chamaerops humilis caused by Palmeiromyces chamaeropicola gen. et sp. nov.

Abstract

In September 2018, a leaf spot disease was noticed on a European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis L.) in Oeiras, Portugal. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the causative agent of this disease symptom. Morphological characters and phylogenetic data derived from ITS and LSU sequences revealed that the leaf spot was caused by a filamentous fungus in the Mycosphaerellales, as a unique lineage within the Teratosphaeriaceae. This pathogen is introduced here as a new genus and species, Palmeiromyces chamaeropicola D.R.S. Pereira & A.J.L. Phillips, the cause of a newly reported leaf disease on Chamaerops humilis.

Keywords

• Fungus
• new genus
• new species
• palm tree
• plant pathogen