ORIGINAL ARTICLE Cercosporoid hyphomycetes associated with Tibouchina herbacea (Melastomataceae) in Brazil Douglas Ferreira Parreira & Meiriele da Silva & Olinto Liparini Pereira & Dartanha José Soares & Robert Weingart Barreto Received: 19 June 2010 /Revised: 5 December 2013 /Accepted: 9 December 2013 /Published online: 16 January 2014 # German Mycological Society and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract A survey of fungal pathogens associated with cane tibouchina, Tibouchina herbacea (Melastomataceae), was conducted in the neotropics, concentrated in south and south- eastern Brazil and aimed at finding potential biological control agents for this herbaceous invasive weed for introduction into Hawaii. Numerous fungal species were found, including five cercosporoid fungi. Four new taxa are described and illustrat- ed here: Passalora tibouchinae, Pseudocercospora subsynnematosa , Pseudocercospora tibouchina -herbaceae and Pseudocercospora tibouchinicola . A phylogenetic analy- sis of the ITS and TEF-1α regions of the three new species of Pseudocercospora was conducted and confirmed their sepa- ration as distinct taxa as indicated by morphological and cultural features. Additionally, Cercospora apii is reported for the first time on T. herbacea . Among the species of fungi described in this study, two appear particularly promising for use in a biological control program because they were found to cause severe disease on T. herbacea : Passalora tibouchinae and Pseudocercospora subsynnematosa . Additional tests, in- cluding host-specificity screening, will be required in order to confirm this potential. Keywords Classical biological control . Cercospora . Fungal survey . New taxa . Passalora . Pseudocercospora Introduction Tibouchina herbacea (DC.) Cogn. (Melastomataceae), known as cane tibouchina (local names in Brazil: quaresmeirinha, quaresmeira do brejo), is a herbaceous plant of humid habitats that is native to South America, namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (Wagner et al. 1999). It was introduced into the Hawaiian Islands as an ornamental for its showy violet flowers and has since become a noxious invasive weed. It is presently found in the islands of Maui, Hawaii, Molokai, Oahu and Lanai ( http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/maps/ tibouchina_herbacea.htm). There are no native species of Melastomataceae in Hawaii and all species in this family that have been introduced are noxious weeds, including Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don and Miconia calvescens DC., which are ranked amongst the worst weeds in that archipelago (DeWalt et al. 2003). In its native habitat, T. herbacea reaches a maxi- mum height of 1.5 m, whereas in Hawai it can reach up to 4 m, forming dense stands in pastures and disturbed areas (Almasi 2000; Motooka et al. 2003). It is included in the State of Hawaii noxious weed list (http://hear.org/pier/species/tibouchina_ herbacea.htm) and its management has been made mainly through herbicide applications. However, classical biological control has been recognized as the sole sustainable method of control for exotic weeds invading natural ecosystems, as is the case of the weedy melastomes in the Pacific (Wikler and Souza 2005). Taxonomical novelty: Passalora tibouchinae D.F. Parreira, O.L. Pereira & R. W. Barreto Pseudocercospora subsynnematosa D.F. Parreira, D.J. Soares & R. W. Barreto, Pseudocercospora tibouchina -herbaceae D.F. Parreira & R.W. Barreto, Pseudocercospora tibouchinicola D.F. Parreira, D.J. Soares & R. W. Barreto. D. F. Parreira : M. da Silva : O. L. Pereira : D. J. Soares : R. W. Barreto (*) Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa 36570-000, MG, Brazil e-mail: rbarreto@ufv.br D. F. Parreira e-mail: douglas.parreira@ufv.br M. da Silva e-mail: meiriele.silva@ufv.br O. L. Pereira e-mail: oliparini@ufv.br D. J. Soares e-mail: dartanha.soares@embrapa.br Mycol Progress (2014) 13:691–702 DOI 10.1007/s11557-013-0952-0