Cladosporium diversity within seeds of Allium wallichii and description of a novel species, Cladosporium allii-wallichii

<i>Allium wallichii</i> is a perennial herbaceous plant with high genetic diversity, which is mainly distributed in the southwest of Yunnan. During our investigation of the diversity of seed endophytic fungi of <i>A. wallichii</i>, 157 strains of fungi were isolated; among them, 50 strains were identified as <i>Cladosporium</i> spp. based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Then, two additional loci, <i>tef1-α</i> and <i>act</i>, were sequenced for all strains of <i>Cladosporium</i>. Based on combined ITS, <i>tef1-α</i> and <i>act</i> sequence analyses, these strains were further identified to species level, including 15 known species and a new, so far undescribed, species. Based on combined morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses, one new species is introduced under the name <i>Cladosporium allii-wallichii</i>. Detailed descriptions, illustrations and phylogenetic analyses of the new species are provided in this study.