ABSTRACT
Neocosmospora is a teleomorph, homothallic, –lamentous fungal genus belonging to the Fusarium solani species complex also known as Fusarium section Martiella (Ascomycota, Pezizomycotina, Sordariomycetes, Hypocreomycetidae, Hypocreales, Nectriaceae). The genus was introduced in 1899 by Smith.1 He described the type species of the genus as N. vasinfecta, and differentiated N. vasinfecta var. vasinfecta, var. tracheiphila, and var. nivea that were isolated from diseased cotton (Gossypium sp.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), respectively. Cross-inoculation experiments revealed that none of these races could infect the host plants of the others; however, no other solid criteria for the separation of the three races could be de–ned.1 Smith erroneously regarded Fusarium vasinfectum (later rede–ned as F. oxysporum var. vasinfectum) as an anamorph of N. vasinfecta. In 1903, von Jaczewski2 introduced a new variety, N. vasinfecta var. sesame, from Sesamum orientale. A new taxon, N. africana, was described from Africa in 1955,3 with cerebriform rather than rugose ascospores. This was followed by morphological and developmental investigations of the two taxa.4-7 Both species were found later in Japan.8 N. ornamentata differing in the shape and degree of rugoseness of the spores was described by Barbosa,9 while new varieties under the names of N. vasinfecta var. minor10 and var. conidiifera11 were also introduced. Later, Udagawa and Horie,12 Mahoney,13 and Ueda and Udagawa14 described N. striata, N. parva, and N. tenuicristata, respectively.
