Sinodiscula loropetali Apurillo, Phukhams., K. D. Hyde & E. B. G. Jones 2025, comb. nov.

Sinodiscula loropetali (T. C. Mu & Jun Z. Qiu) Apurillo, Phukhams., K. D. Hyde & E. B. G. Jones comb. nov. Melanconiella loropetali T. C. Mu & Jun Z. Qiu, Front. Microbiol. 14 (1229705): 3 (2023). Basionym. MycoBank No: 848666. Description. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Descriptions and illustrations refer to Mu et al. (2023). Notes. Melanconiella loropetali was introduced in Melanconiella by Mu et al. (2023), isolated from diseased Loropetalum sinense in China. Melanconiella loropetali, Melanconiella camelliae and Melanconiella syzygii, formed a basal clade distinct from other Melanconiella species in Mu et al. (2023). However, only Melanconiella species were used in the analysis, leading to their classification as Melanconiella. We included other genera in Melanconiellaceae in our analysis and M. camelliae, M. loropetali and M. syzygii are phylogenetically distant from Melanconiella. The phylogenetic tree of the combined ITS, LSU, rpb 2 and tef 1 - α sequences showed that Melanconiella loropetali formed a sister clade to Sinodiscula species. Thus, we reclassified M. loropetali as Sinodiscula loropetali. Melanconiella loropetali is similar to Sinodiscula species. It fits the generic description of Sinodiscula, and like other Sinodiscula species, Melanconiella loropetali was isolated as a plant pathogen (Mu et al. 2023; Guo et al. 2024). Given the similarities in morphology and ecology of M. loropetali and Sinodiscula species, and the well-supported phylogenetic position of Melanconiella loropetali, we reclassify it as Sinodiscula loropetali.