Identification and Pathogenicity of Pestalotioid Species on Alpinia oxyphylla in Hainan Province, China

is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant with a medicinal history of more than 1700 years. Ring leaf blight (RLB) disease, caused by pestalotioid species, is an important disease of , seriously affecting the yield and quality of its fruits. The causal agent of RLB disease has not been systematically identified or characterized yet. In this study, thirty-six pestalotioid strains were isolated from the leaves and stems of that was collected from six cities of Hainan province, China. Based on the multi-locus phylogeny ( , and ) and morphological characteristic analyses, seventeen species belonging to three genera ( , and ) were identified, and six new species ( , , , , and ) were described. Pathogenicity tests revealed that strains of species caused more severe ring leaf blight on than strains of and under wounded inoculation conditions.