Taxonomic Review of and Development of a Lucid Key for Philippine Cercosporoids and Related Fungi

The genus Mycosphaerella Johanson, contains more than 3000 names (Aptroot 2006), and has been linked to more than 30 well-known anamorphic genera (Crous 2006a and 2006b). It has a worldwide distribution from tropical and subtropical to warm and cool regions (Crous 1998; Crous et al. 2000 and 2001). Mycosphaerella, however, has been associated with at least 27 different coelomycete or hyphomycete anamorph genera (Kendrick and DiCosmo, 1979), 23 of which were accepted by Crous et al. (2000). More than 3000 names have already been published in Cercospora (Pollack, 1987). The genus Cercospora Fresen., which is one of the largest genera of hyphomycetes, has been linked to Mycosphaerella teleomorphs (Crous et al., 2000). Cercospora was first monographed by Chupp (1954), who accepted 1419 species. Subsequent workers such as, F.C. Deighton, B.C. Sutton and U. Braun divided Cercospora in to almost 50 different genera which are morphologically similar and distinct with each other (Crous and Braun, 2003).