Phaeoacremonium: From esca disease to phaeohyphomycosis

• Phaeoacremonium spp. are commonly isolated from stems and branches of diseased woody hosts, and humans with phaeohyphomycosis.
• In this review we summarise information pertaining to the global distribution, pathology, ecology and detection of these species.
• We present a case for retaining the genus Phaeoacremonium over that of Togninia.
• Furthermore, to obtain a single nomenclature, new combinations are also proposed.

Phaeoacremonium spp. are commonly isolated from stems and branches of diseased woody hosts, and humans with phaeohyphomycosis. The genus Phaeoacremonium (Togniniaceae, Togniniales) has recently been monographed, and presently contains 46 species, while its sexual morph, Togninia, contains 26 epithets, of which 13 are insufficiently known. In this review we summarise information pertaining to the global distribution, pathology, ecology, and detection of these species, and present a case for retaining the genus Phaeoacremonium over that of Togninia. Furthermore, to obtain a single nomenclature, the following new combinations are also proposed: Phaeoacremonium africanum, P. aquaticum, P. fraxinopennsylvanicum, P. griseo-olivaceum, P. inconspicuum, P. leptorrhynchum, P. minimum, and P. vibratile.