Fungal pathogens on plants in NYC

This year the spring and early summer in New York City has been very wet -- we have had a great deal of rain, and this seems to have favored the growth of fungi.

Here is a list of taxa of fungal plant pathogen species which I believe I have observed in NYC. This is very much a work in progress, so please forgive errors of various kinds, as well as general mistakes and incompleteness. I hope to add to this post and refine the text over time.

NOTE: Apologies to any real plant pathologists reading this: I am not doing any microscope work or culturing, so all of my IDs are just guesses based only on the appearance and symptoms of the affected leaves. Because of this, some (or perhaps many) of my IDs will turn out to be unreliable or just plain incorrect. As a result, in some cases the icon images for the species will have to be changed.

Some of these fungi were observed living in/on wild species of plant, and some were observed on cultivated plants. So far I have searched parks, gardens, street trees, and a small Urban Farm.

This first version is gleaned from the list of species currently in the project New York Mycological Society -- Fungi of NYC.

Mulberry leaf spot (on mulberries) -- Cercospora moricola
Pear Rust (on Callery Pear) -- Gymnosporangium sabinae
Black Rot (on Boston Ivy) -- Phyllosticta amplicida
Black Tar Spot (on maples) -- Rhytisma acerinum
Cercospora Leaf Spot on Hydrangea (on hydrangeas) -- Cercospora hydrangea
Red Dock Spot (on docks) -- Ramularia rubella
Quince Rust (on Serviceberries and others) -- Gymnosporangium clavipes
Hollyhock Rust (on garden hollyhocks) -- Puccinia malvacearum
Black Spot (on garden roses) -- Diplocarpon rosae
. . no common name (on Virginia Creeper) -- Phyllosticta quinquifolia
Spindletree Powdery Mildew (on Japanese Euonymus) -- Erysiphe euonymicola
. . no common name (on Wild Vetch and on Board Beans) -- Didymella fabae
. . no common name (on Common Mugwort) -- Puccinia tanaceti
Black Spot of Elm (on Elms) -- Stegophora ulmea
. . no common name (on Eastern Cottonwood) -- Drepanopezia brunnea
Lettuce Anthracnose (on Prickly Lettuce) -- Microdochium panattonianum
Dogwood Anthracnose (on Dogwood) -- Discula destructiva
Sycamore Anthracnose (on Plane trees) -- Apiognomonia veneta
. . no common name (on Heavenly Bamboo) -- Pseudocercospora nandinae
Cherry Leaf-Blight (on wild cherry) -- Blumeriella jaapii
Juniper-apple Rust (on Eastern Juniper) -- Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae
Bullseye Leaf Spot (on Japanese Maples) -- Phyllosticta minima
Powdery Mildew on Clover (on Red Clover) -- Erysiphe polygoni
Violet Rust (on wild violets Viola sororia) -- Puccinia violae
Oak Anthracnose (on white oak group) -- Apiognomonia errabunda
Cercospora Leaf Spot of Swiss Chard, Beets, and Spinach (on Beets) -- Cercospora beticola
Cercospora leaf Spot on Clover (on red clover) -- Cercospora zebrina
Hellebore Leaf Spot (on garden hellebore) -- Coniothyrium hellebori
Hypericum Rust (on garden St. John's Wort) -- Melampsora hypercorum
Ash Anthracnose Fungus (on Ash street trees) -- Gleosporium aridum
Peony Red Spot (on garden peony) -- Graphiopsis chlorocephala
. . no common name (on gardened Trilium) -- Urocystis trillii
Coryneum Blight (on Purple-leaved Plum) -- Wilsonomyces carpophilus

These species are only the ones where I think I could come up with an ID. I have many more about which am currently clueless, and which will probably have to remain so indefinitely for lack of lab work.

Posted on June 26, 2019 01:26 PM by susanhewitt susanhewitt

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Brown Rot (Monilinia laxa)

Observer

susanhewitt

Date

June 24, 2019 02:55 PM EDT

Description

A great deal of dead brown leaves on this Japanese Ornamental Cherry next to the entrance to Gracie Mansion.

Photos / Sounds

What

Spindletree Powdery Mildew (Erysiphe euonymicola)

Observer

susanhewitt

Date

June 24, 2019 02:58 PM EDT

Description

On Japanese Spindle.

Photos / Sounds

Observer

susanhewitt

Date

June 24, 2019 03:05 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Pear Rust (Gymnosporangium sabinae)

Observer

susanhewitt

Date

June 24, 2019 03:21 PM EDT
Fungi

Photos / Sounds

What

Fungi Including Lichens (Kingdom Fungi)

Observer

susanhewitt

Date

June 24, 2019 03:17 PM EDT

Description

On Ulmus -- ?American Elm.

Fungi

Photos / Sounds

What

Fungi Including Lichens (Kingdom Fungi)

Observer

susanhewitt

Date

June 25, 2019 04:16 PM EDT

Description

On Hollyhock leaves.

Photos / Sounds

What

Boxwood Blight (Calonectria pseudonaviculata)

Observer

susanhewitt

Date

June 25, 2019 04:23 PM EDT

Description

On Boxwood.

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