Abstract:
The Botryosphaeriales includes serious plant pathogens
with a broad host and geographic distribution globally. In
South Africa and Namibia, these fungi include important pathogens
of native and non-native woody plants, and have consequently
been studied extensively. Here we synthesize the information
from the previous studies, particularly in the last decade,
that report 62 species in the Botryosphaeriales from 66 hosts
across South Africa and Namibia. Of these, 52 species have been
reported from native hosts, 17 are from non-native hosts and
twelve of these species occur on both native and non-native trees
in the region.Much of the diversity of the Botryosphaeriales can
be ascribed to native species that have fairly limited host and
geographic ranges. Neofusicoccum parvum is amongst the most
common species on both native and non-native hosts and it is
thought to be native to the region. In contrast, Botryosphaeria
dothidea, which is certainly an introduced species, is also widespread,
and is very common on both native and non-native
plants. Overall this synthesis underscores the growing understanding
of the diversity of an important group of tree pathogens,
their apparently common global spread as latent agents of disease, as well as their apparently common movement between
commercial and native ecosystems.
