The <i>Colletotrichum dracaenophilum</i>, <i>C. magnum</i> and <i>C. orchidearum</i> species complexes

Although <i>Glomerella glycines</i>, <i>Colletotrichum magnum</i> and <i>C. orchidearum</i> are known as causal agents of anthracnose of soybean, <i>Cucurbitaceae</i> and <i>Orchidaceae</i>, respectively, their taxonomy remains unresolved. In preliminary analyses based on ITS, strains of these species appear basal in <i>Colletotrichum</i> phylogenies, clustering close to <i>C. cliviae</i>, <i>C. brevisporum</i> and other recently described species from tropical or subtropical regions. Phylogenetic analyses (ITS, <i>GAPDH</i>, <i>CHS-1, HIS3, ACT, TUB2</i>) of 102 strains previously identified as <i>Ga. glycines</i>, <i>C. magnum</i> and <i>C. orchidearum</i> as well as other related strains from different culture collections and studies placed these taxa in three species complexes, and distinguished at least 24 species, including 11 new species. In this study, <i>C. magnum</i>, <i>C. orchidearum</i> and <i>C. piperis</i> were epitypified and their taxonomy resolved, while <i>C. cliviicola</i> was proposed as a new name for <i>C. cliviae</i>. Furthermore, a sexual morph was observed for <i>C. yunnanense</i>, while <i>C. brevisporum</i>, <i>C. cliviicola</i> and <i>C. tropicicola</i> were reported from new hosts or countries. Regarding their conidial morphology, species in the <i>C. dracaenophilum, C. magnum</i> and <i>C. orchidearum</i> species complexes are reminiscent of <i>C. gloeosporioides</i> or <i>C. boninense</i> s. lat., and were likely to be confused with them in the past.