Phyllactinia (genus)
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Author(s): F.W. Anderson
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Phyllactinia Lév. 1851
This genus of powdery mildew fungi is widely distributed. Like the species of the genus Leveillula the hyphae partly penetrate the host tissue. Host plants are mainly trees and shrubs. Several species are considered to be important disease-causing agents of crops and forest trees, e.g. Phyllactinia guttata.
Species of Phyllactinia are characterized by the ascocarps (cleistothecia) having needle-shaped appendages with a bulbous base. These are part of a special mechanism of dispersal. When a cleistothecium dries up on the lower leaf surface the appendages turn towards the leaf and detach the ascocarp from the mycelium and the leaf surface. They then fall down and stick to the substrate below with a gelatinous substance excreted on the outer surface. The cleistothecium then opens releasing the ascospores.
Type species: Phyllactinia suffulta
Currently, the following species have been entered into the system:
