A fungus, of the genus Phyiophthora, frequently isolated from diseased spinach roots and also from field-grown wheat plants in an area in the south of Sweden, was identified as P. cryptogca on the basis of morphology, growth characters and cardinal temperatures. Mycelium or zoospores applied as inoculum in a series of pathogenicity tests induced symptoms in spmach, sugarbeet, wheat, cucumber, oil-seed rape, pea and oats. These ranged from death of all (spinach) or some inoculated plants (sugarbeet and wheat), to only slight root sj'mptoms (oats). Successful re-isolations from all plants tested, confirmed infectivity in all cases. This is the first report ot the occurrence of P. cryptogea in Sweden and, as far as we know, of pathogenidty of this fungus to wheat, oil-seed rape and oats.