The fungus Sydowia polyspora is frequently isolated from conifers worldwide and is considered a pathogen on several hosts. Stone pine (Pinus pinea) is one of the most important forestry species throughout the Mediterranean basin due to the value of the edible pine nut. Stone pines showing tip dieback, needles with tan‐ to yellow‐coloured lesions and shoot death, observed in stands in Portugal, were sampled for analysis. Fungal colonies covered with cream‐coloured spore masses, were consistently obtained. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses of the ITS rDNA region enabled identification of these isolates as S. polyspora. Inoculation tests showed that the fungus caused lesions on excised P. pinea shoots. The symptoms observed might have a negative effect on pine nut production, and thus, evaluation of the impact of this disease is of relevance to future research. This paper is the first to report S. polyspora causing disease on P. pinea.

Eucalyptus globulus, an exotic species in Portugal, is one of the dominant and intensively managed forest species in the country. A disease syndrome characterised by leaf necrosis, stem girdling and cutting dieback in eucalyptus and associated with pestalotioid fungi has been detected in nurseries and young plantations in the last years. Twenty-seven isolates were recovered from diseased plants. Phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacers, partial translation elongation factor 1-α gene and partial β-tubulin gene sequence data grouped the isolates in five separate clades. Combining morphological, cultural and molecular data, five new species of Neopestalotiopsis are described, namely, Neopestalotiopsis eucalyptorum, Neopestalotiopsis hispanica, Neopestalotiopsis iberica, Neopestalotiopsis longiappendiculata and Neopestalotiopsis lusitanica.

Research Highlights: Pestalotiopsis pini sp. nov. is an emerging pathogen on stone pine, Pinus pinea L., in Portugal. Background and Objectives: Stone pine is one of the most important forest tree species in Portugal and in the whole Mediterranean basin. Pestalotiopsis species are common endophytes, saprobes or pathogens in a variety of hosts and environments. The objective of the present study was to identify the Pestalotiopsis species associated with the symptomatic stone pine trees. Materials and Methods: Samples of stone pine trees showing shoot blight and stem necrosis were obtained from stone pine orchards and urban areas in Portugal, and the isolated Pestalotiopsis species were identified based on morphology and combined ITS, TEF and TUB DNA sequence data. Artificial inoculations on one-year-old stone pine seedlings were performed with the two species most frequently found in association with shoot blight disease. Results: Five Pestalotiopsis spp. were isolated. A taxonomic novelty, Pestalotiopsis pini is described, representing a new pathogen for stone pine. Conclusions: Pestalotiopsis species may represent a threat to the health of pine forests in the Mediterranean basin. Future research should be done in order to increase our knowledge about the potential impact of pestalotioid species in stone pine, in order to develop management strategies against these pathogens.

The species in genus Amanita section Amidella form a well-defined clade, but some taxa remain difficult to discriminate. In particular, the concept of Amanita valens (E.-J. Gilbert) Bertault remains controversial. To understand the phylogenetic placement of a set of collections from South Portugal with a novel nrDNA barcode, we have obtained nrDNA sequences for previously unassessed type collections. The taxon formerly described as Amanita curtipes f. pseudovalens Neville & Poumarat is interpreted as a separate species, Amanita pseudovalens (Neville & Poumarat) Arraiano-Castilho et al. comb. et stat. nov., and is genetically indistinct from the Portuguese collections, thus clarifying their taxonomic context. However, our collections are morphologically and ecologically distinct (respectively, ellipsoid to oblong basidiospores and association with Cistus on acidic schist soils), and are proposed as a new variety, Amanita pseudovalens var. tartessiana Arraiano-Castilho et al. These developments also enable a better diagnosis of Amidella taxa in Europe, a progress that is most decisive for the late Winter to Spring season collections, and identification keys are proposed. However, the co-occurrence and morphological similarity of the new variety, in comparison with the prized edible Amanita ponderosa Malençon & Heim, could leave some collections of either taxa unresolved. Thus, a molecular marker approach was developed, to provide a clear and cost-effective identification aid to complement the keys. The proposed diagnostic tools can be applied toward a review of European Amidella taxa chorology from existing records, conserved materials, and future collections. Evolutionary convergence may contribute to the determination difficulties in the Amidella clade.

The cover image is based on the Short Communication First report of Sydowia polyspora causing disease on Pinus pinea shoots by Helena Bragança, Ana Paula Ramos, Ana Cristina Silva et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/efp.12570.

Pine pitch canker is one of the much concerning forest diseases in Europe, affecting both adult and young plant hosts. Substrates used in nurseries, especially the ones incorporating Fusarium circinatum host plant residues, such as pine bark, may represent a vehicle for the spread of the fungus. The present study tested the efficacy of solarization on the elimination of F. circinatum inoculum from an artificially inoculated substrate, after three and seven weeks of treatment application, compared with a non- solarized control treatment. The results show a reduction of the viable inoculum density of F. circinatum from the substrate after seven weeks, which suggests that substrate solarization may be a process to minimize biotic risks in a nursery.