Three new species of Apiospora (Apiosporaceae, Amphisphaeriales) associated with diseased bamboo in China

<i>Apiospora</i> is widely distributed worldwide, primarily comprising pathogens, endophytes, and saprobes associated with plants, and most of its hosts are Poaceae. In this study, 37 pathogenic strains of <i>Apiospora</i> were isolated from diseased bamboo collected in the provinces of Hunan and Guizhou, China. Multilocus phylogenetic analysis using combined ITS, LSU, <i>TUB2</i>, and <i>TEF1</i> sequence data, along with morphological assessments, identified three new species: <i>A.bambusiparasitica</i> <b>sp. nov.</b>, <i>A.qiannanensis</i> <b>sp. nov.</b>, and <i>A.xiangxiense</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> Descriptions, illustrations, and phylogenetic trees for the newly discovered species are provided and compared with closely related <i>Apiospora</i> species to enhance our understanding of the genus <i>Apiospora</i>. The pathogenicity test results demonstrated that the three new species could cause bamboo culm diseases, providing valuable information for the diagnosis and management of bamboo culm diseases.