Phyllosticta ampelicida, the causal agent of black rot of grape, and P. vaccinii, the pathogen of early rot of cranberry, are neotypified and epitypified respectively by strains from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). Morphological characteristics of these cultures are described and compared with type specimens and the original descriptions. Based on phylogeny inferred from DNA sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS), actin (ACT), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), traditionally defined P. ampelicida (teleomorph Guignardia bidwellii) is revealed to be a species complex including P. ampelicida sensu stricto, typified in this study, and two additional species, one of which is described as new P. parthenocissi. Our results did not support an anamorph/teleomorph connection between P. vaccinii and G. vaccinii in that they represent different species. Multilocus sequence data from the neotype and epitype were generated and deposited in GenBank.
Keywords: G. vaccinii; Guignardia bidwellii; phylogeny; plant pathogen; systematics; taxonomy.