New species of Marthamyces and Ramomarthamyces gen. nov. from New Zealand and the Cook Islands

Abstract

A leaf-spotting fungus common on Phormium tenax in New Zealand is described here as Marthamyces harakeke sp. nov. The phylogenetic analysis prepared for the description of this new species showed Marthamyces to be polyphyletic. To resolve this, three Marthamyces species from Australia and New Zealand, M. barbatus, M. dracophylli, and M. gilvus, are recombined in the new genus Ramomarthamyces. Morphologically the Ramomarthamyces species differ from Marthamyces in having paraphyses distinctly branched, rather than propoloid. A fungus common on recently fallen leaves of Metrosideros spp. in New Zealand has been previously referred to as Marthamyces emarginatus, but is recognised here as a new species, Marthamyces metrosideri. In addition, two new Marthamyces species, M. maccormackii on Metrosideros collina, and M. renga on Metrosideros collina, Vaccinium cereum, and Weinmannia samoensis, are described from the Cook Islands, and a new Ramomarthamyces species, R. tuku on Juncus sp., is described from New Zealand. Finally, Naemacyclus culmigenus is recombined in Marthamyces .