Fusarium fici Q. Y. Liu, X. G. Zhang & J. W. Xia 2025, sp. nov.

Fusarium fici Q. Y. Liu, X. G. Zhang & J. W. Xia sp. nov. Fig. 3 Etymology. Referring to the genus name of the host plant Ficus fistulosa. Typus. China • Hainan Province, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, on leaves of Ficus fistulosa, 10 April 2023, Q. Y. Liu (HMAS 353395, holotype), ex-holotype culture CGMCC 3.27796 = SAUCC 3249 C-3. Description. Conidiophores arising from aerial mycelium, 17–21 μm long, unbranched, reduced to single phialidic pegs, subulate to subcylindrical; aerial conidia hyaline, smooth, and thin-walled, rarely ellipsoidal to falcate, straight to curved dorsiventrally, a blunt apical cell and barely notched basal cell, 1–3 (– 5) - septate; 1 - septate conidia: (12 –) 12–16 (– 28) × 3–5 μm (av. 17 × 3 μm, n = 18); 2 - septate conidia: (16 –) 17–21 (– 26) × 3–5 μm (av. 19 × 4 μm, n = 17); 3 - septate conidia: (20 –) 22–28 (– 36) × 3–6 μm (av. 26 × 4 μm, n = 31); 4 - septate conidia: (28 –) 31–34 (– 39) × 4–5 μm (av. 33 × 5 μm, n = 14); 5 - septate conidia: (23 –) 32–33 (– 36) × 4–5 μm (av. 31 × 4 μm, n = 5). Sporodochia salmon to saffron, formed abundantly on surface of carnation leaves. Sporodochial conidiophores densely and bearing apical whorls of 1 phialide; sporodochial phialides subulate to subcylindrical, 9–11 × 3–4 μm, smooth, thin-walled, with inconspicuous periclinal thickening; sporodochial conidia falcate, straight to curved dorsiventrally, tapering towards both ends, with slightly papillate, a conical to slightly papillate apical cell, a notched to foot-like basal cell, (0 –) 1–3 (– 5) - septate, hyaline, smooth, and thin-walled; 0 - septate conidia: (10 –) 15–20 (– 21) × 2–4 μm (av. 16 × 3 μm, n = 9); 1 - septate conidia: (13 –) 15–22 (– 25) × 2–5 μm (av. 18 × 4 μm, n = 23); 2 - septate conidia: (13 –) 16–18 (– 23) × 2–5 μm (av. 18 × 3 μm, n = 23); 3 - septate conidia: (19 –) 20–25 (– 29) × 3–5 μm (av. 24 × 4 μm, n = 37); 4 - septate conidia: (28 –) 31–34 (– 36) × 4–5 μm (av. 33 × 4 μm, n = 12); 5 - septate conidia: (34 –) 34–36 (– 38) × 3–5 μm (av. 35 × 4 μm, n = 5). Chlamydospores not observed. Culture characteristics. Colonies on PDA incubated at 25 ° C in the dark, reaching 76–80 mm diameter in 7 d, flat, convex, with abundant aerial mycelium, colony margin lightly erose; surface white, odor absent; reverse yellowish white, odor absent. On OA in the dark, reaching 85–90 mm diameter in 7 d; aerial mycelium scant in the center forming a vacant circle, reverse white, odor absent. Additional material studied. China • Hainan Province, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, on leaves of Ficus fistulosa, 10 April 2023, Q. Y. Liu (HSAUP 44932), living culture CGMCC 3.27797 = SAUCC 3249 C-4. Notes. Phylogenetic analyses of three combined sequences (cal, rpb 2, and tef 1) showed that F. fici constitutes a distinct clade, closely related to F. aberrans. Between F. fici (CGMCC 3.27796) and F. aberrans (CBS 131385), there were 11 / 535 differences in cal, 13 / 657 in rpb 2, and 34 / 462 in tef 1. The mycelium on OA of F. fici (CGMCC 3.27796) is sparser than that of F. aberrans (CBS 131385). Morphologically, F. fici (CGMCC 3.27796) and F. aberrans (CBS 131385) have different sporodochial conidial septa (0–5 - septate in F. fici vs. 1–3 - septate in F. aberrans) and sporodochial phialides (1 phialide in F. fici vs. 2–3 phialides in F. aberrans). The aerial conidiophores of F. aberrans (16–110 μm) are longer than F. fici (17–21 μm) (Xia et al. 2019).