Podosphaera prunicola

Podosphaera prunicola is a species of powdery mildew in the family Erysiphaceae. It is found in North America and Eurasia, where it affects plants in the genus Prunus.^[1]

Podosphaera prunicola
Podosphaera prunicola on Prunus in the UK.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Leotiomycetes
Order:	Helotiales
Family:	Erysiphaceae
Genus:	Podosphaera
Species:	P. prunicola
Binomial name
Podosphaera prunicola U. Braun, 2012
Synonyms
Podosphaera oxycanthae f. pruni (Juel) S. Bumer, 1933

Description

The fungus forms effuse or patchy, white to greyish mycelium on host leaves. Podosphaera prunicola, like most Erysiphaceae, is highly host-specific and infects only Prunus.^[1] There are a great many other species of powdery mildew on Prunus, so care should be taken with identification. In North America, P. prunicola is the most common widespread Prunus powdery mildew species, common on hosts such as Prunus virginiana.^[2] In Europe, it occurs on introduced Prunus from North America, most often Prunus serotina.

Taxonomy

Podosphaera prunicola was originally described by Jaczewski in 1927 as Podosphaera oxycanthae f. pruni. The forma was elevated to a species by Uwe Braun in 2012.