XVI International Botanical Congess

The present study deals with ascomycetes causing black leaf spots on indigenous/plants found in the Shimba Hills National Reserve on the Kenyan coast. It treats 61 species of Meliolaceae and 14 species of Asterinaceae, distributed through 61 host genera within 29 families. Slightly more than 89% of the fungi included in this study are new to science. Forty -three species and four varieties of Meliolaceae are described as new, and ten new species in the Asterinaceae. Two species of the genus Amazonia, A. colae, and A. rubiacearum, and one of the Asteridiella, A. goughiana, are new. The new genus Cryptomeliola S. Hughes & Piroz. Is described for two species: C. orbicularis ( Berk. & M.A. Curtis) S. Hughes & Piroz. Comb. Nov. (type species) and the new species, C. moiana, from Kenya. Irenopsis keniensis and I .ximeniae are also described as new. The new species of Meliola include: M. alatae, M. allophylorum, M. borbonicae, M. bussei, M. bwaniana, M. capitati, M. castaneifoliae, M. chasaliae, M. darwiniana, M. dasiana, M. digoana, M. ellipanthi, M. erythrophloeicola, M. ferrugineae, M. fructicosae, M. hirtellae, M. hookeri, M. keniensis, M. leptactiniae, M. mombasana, M. monathotaxiae, M. ngerechiana, M. obtissifoliae, M. oldenlandiicola, M. pachystellae, M. paraphialis, M. pentadis, M. petiolariicola, M. pinnatae, M. racemosae, M.rauvolfiae, M. rubiacearum, M.rubifolii, M. schelechterinae, M. Shimbaensis, M. strychni, M. tinctoriae, and M. verbenacearum. Meliola allophyli var. pervillei, M. jasmini var. floribundae, and M. trichiliae var. emeticae are new varieties. Meliola crotonis- macrostachydis is treated as synonym of M. micropoda. Ten species of Asterinaceae are described as new: Asterina afzeliae, A. grandicarpa, A. monathotaxiae, A. opiliae, A. paramacrolobii, A. shimbaensis, A. thylachii, Lembosia diospyrosi, L. sapotacearum and Lembosina dracaenae. Asteridiella pleurostyliae on Elaeodendron schrueinfurthii, Asterina crotoniensis on Alchornea laxifolius, Irenopsis gymnosporiae on Maytenusn sp., and I. Mikaniae on Vernonia sp. are new to their host genera. Asteridiella irregularis on Asytasia gangetica, Asterina pemphidiodes on Syzygium cordata, Meliola allophyli on Allophylus alnifolius, M. malachotricha on Ipomoea urbaniana and M. micropoda on Croton sylvaticus are new to their host species and also new to Kenya. Amazonia psychotriae var. major on indet. Rubiaceae, Asteridiella combreti var. leonensis on Combretum sp., Asterina robusta on indet. Sapotaceae, A. Scolopiae on Scolopia zeyheri, Irenopsis stuhlmanniana on Acridocarpus sp., Meliola cassythae on Cassytha filiformis and M. turraeae on Turrae floribunda are new records for Kenya.