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Species in the Botryosphaeriaceae are common plant pathogens, endophytes, and saprobes found on a variety of mainly woody hosts. Botryosphaeriaceae is a high-profile fungal family whose genera have been subjected to continuous revisions in recent years. Surveys conducted during 2019 and 2020 on several decaying woody hosts (from dead arial twigs, branches, stems, bark, and seed pods) in China and Thailand revealed a high diversity of Botryosphaeriaceae fungi. Identification of 16 Botryosphaeriaceae isolates was carried out based on both morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of combined ITS, LSU, tef1-α , and tub2 sequence data. Four novel species ( Dothiorella ovata , Do. rosacearum , Do. septata , and Lasiodiplodia delonicis ) and seven previously known species ( Botryosphaeria fujianensis , Diplodia mutila , Di. seriata , L. crassispora , L. mahajangana , Macrophomina euphorbiicola and Sphaeropsis eucalypticola ) were identified while new hosts and geographical records were reported. This study indicates that the fungal family Botryosphaeriaceae seems to be common and widespread on a broad range of hosts in China and Thailand.

Pestalotiod fungi are associated with a wide variety of plants worldwide and occur as endophytes, pathogens, and saprobes. The present study provides an updated phylogeny for genera Neopestalotiopsis, Pestalotiopsis, and Seiridium using fresh collections from woody oil plants (Camellia oleifera, Olea europaea, Paeonia suffruticosa, Sapium sebiferum, and Vernicia fordii) in Sichuan Province, China. We coupled morphology and combined sequence data analyses of ITS, tub2, and tef1-α for Neopestalotiopsis and Pestalotiopsis, with ITS, LSU, tub2, tef1-α, and rpb2 for Seiridium. Three novel species of Neopestalotiopsis (N. mianyangensis, N. paeonia-suffruticosa, N. terricola) and three of Seiridium (S. guangyuanum, S. vernicola, S. oleae), were found. Three other species, Pestalotiopsis kenyana, Seiridium ceratosporum, and S. rosarum were identified and reported as new records. All isolated species are fully described and illustrated. Additionally, the sexual morph of Pestalotiopsis kenyana is described for the first time. Pathogenicity tests revealed that Neopestalotiopsis mianyangensis, N. paeonia-suffruticosa, N. terricola, Pestalotiopsis kenyana, Seiridium guangyuanum, S. vernicola, and S. oleae are pathogenic on detached olive leaves.

Botryosphaeriales is an important order of diverse fungal pathogens, saprobes, and endophytes distributed worldwide. Recent studies of Botryosphaeriales in China have discovered a broad range of species, some of which have not been formerly described. In this study, 60 saprobic isolates were obtained from decaying woody hosts in southwestern China. The isolates were compared with other species using morphological characteristics, and available DNA sequence data was used to infer phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large subunit rRNA gene (LSU), and translation elongation factor 1-α ( tef ) loci. Three novel species were illustrated and described as Botryobambusa   guizhouensis , Sardiniella   elliptica , and Sphaeropsis   guizhouensis , which belong to rarely identified genera within Botryosphaeriaceae . Botryobambusa   guizhouensis is the second species identified from the respective monotypic genus. The previously known species were identified as Aplosporella hesperidica , Barriopsis tectonae , Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diplodia mutila , Di. neojuniperi , Di. pseudoseriata , Di . sapinea , Di . seriata , Dothiorella sarmentorum , Do . yunnana , Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae , Neofusicoccum parvum , Sardiniella celtidis , Sa.   guizhouensis , and Sphaeropsis citrigena . The results of this study indicate that numerous species of Botryosphaeriales are yet to be revealed in southwestern China.

Though several Diaporthe species have been reported in China, little is known about the species associated with nature reserves in Guizhou province. During a survey of fungi in six nature reserves in Guizhou province of China, thirty-one Diaporthe isolates were collected from different woody hosts. Based on morphology, culture characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analysis, these isolates were characterized and identified. Phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), combined with translation elongation factor 1-alpha ( tef ), β-tubulin ( tub ), calmodulin ( cal ) and histone H3 ( his ) gene regions identified five known Diaporthe species and seven distinct lineages representing novel Diaporthe species. The details of five known species: Diaporthe cercidis, D. cinnamomi, D. conica, D. nobilis and D. sackstonii are given and the seven new species D. constrictospora , D. ellipsospora , D. guttulata , D. irregularis , D. lenispora , D. minima , and D. minusculata are introduced with detailed descriptions and illustrations. This study revealed a high diversity of previously undescribed Diaporthe species associated with woody hosts in various nature reserves of Guizhou province, indicating that there is a potential of Diaporthe species remains to be discovered in this unique landform (Karst formations) in China. Interestingly, the five known Diaporthe species have been reported as pathogens of various hosts, and this could indicate that those newly introduced species in this study could be potentially pathogenic pending further studies to confirm.