Colletotrichum species causing leaf spot diseases of Liriope cymbidiomorpha (ined.) in China

Liriope cymbidiomorpha (ined.) is an excellent ground-cover plant with high ornamental and landscaping value in China. During 2016 to 2018, the leaf spot symptomatic L. cymbidiomorpha plants were observed in the famous Hangzhou Westlake Scenic Spot of Zhejiang province, China. Two pathogens namely Colletotrichum liriopes and C. gloeosporioides were isolated and identified from symptomatic tissues based on the morphological features as well as sequence-based identification. Pathogenicity test and re-validation of Koch’s postulates showed that the two fungi were cause of diseases on L. cymbidiomorpha plants. To our knowledge, this is the first description of these pathogens causing leaf spot diseases on L. cymbidiomorpha plants in China.