Three new species of Leptographium from pine

Leptographium species are common inhabitants of fresh conifer logs and lumber that are known for their ability to cause blue-stain and, in some cases, their association with disease. L. procerum has been associated with a root disease although controversy surrounds its role in tree death. During the course of the past two decades, a relatively large number of isolates tentatively identified as L. procerum have been collected in various parts of the world. Some of these display morphological characters unlike those of L. procerum s. str. and this has prompted us to re-examine them. Four groups of morphologically distinct isolates were identified, of which L. procerum s. str. represented one. The remaining isolates of Leptographium are newly described as L. alethinum, L. pityophilum and L. euphyes spp. nov.