Species of Elsinoë are phytopathogens causing scab and spot anthracnose on many plants, including some economically important crops such as avocado, citrus, grapevines, and ornamentals such as poinsettias, field crops and woody hosts. Disease symptoms are often easily recognisable, and referred to as signature-bearing diseases, for the cork-like appearance of older infected tissues with scab-like appearance. In some Elsinoë-host associations the resulting symptoms are better described as spot anthracnose. Additionally the infected plants may also show mild to severe distortions of infected organs. Isolation of Elsinoë in pure culture can be very challenging and examination of specimens collected in the field is often frustrating because of the lack of fertile structures. Current criteria for species recognition and host specificity in Elsinoë are unclear due to overlapping morphological characteristics, and the lack of molecular and pathogenicity data. In the present study we revised the taxonomy of Elsinoë based on DNA sequence and morphological data derived from 119 isolates, representing 67 host genera from 17 countries, including 64 ex-type cultures. Combined analyses of ITS, LSU, rpb2 and TEF1-α DNA sequence data were used to reconstruct the backbone phylogeny of the genus Elsinoë. Based on the single nomenclature for fungi, 26 new combinations are proposed in Elsinoë for species that were originally described in Sphaceloma. A total of 13 species are epitypified with notes on their taxonomy and phylogeny. A further eight new species are introduced, leading to a total of 75 Elsinoë species supported by molecular data in the present study. For the most part species of Elsinoë appear to be host specific, although the majority of the species treated are known only from a few isolates, and further collections and pathogenicity studies will be required to reconfirm this conclusion.

埃尔西诺物种是引起许多植物赤霉病和斑点炭疽病的植物病原体，包括一些经济上重要的作物，如鳄梨、柑橘、葡萄树，以及观赏植物，如一品红、大田作物和木本寄主。疾病症状通常很容易识别，并被称为带有特征的疾病，因为较旧的感染组织呈软木塞状外观，并具有结痂状外观。在一些埃尔西诺宿主协会中，所产生的症状被更好地描述为斑点炭疽病。此外，受感染的植物也可能​​表现出受感染器官轻度至严重的扭曲。在纯培养物中分离埃尔西诺埃可能非常具有挑战性，并且由于缺乏肥沃的结构，对现场收集的标本的检查常常令人沮丧。由于重叠的形态特征以及缺乏分子和致病性数据，目前埃尔西诺物种识别和宿主特异性的标准尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们根据来自 119 个分离株的 DNA 序列和形态学数据修订了Elsinoë的分类法，这些分离株代表来自 17 个国家的 67 个宿主属，包括 64 个前型培养物。 ITS、LSU、 rpb2和TEF1-α DNA 序列数据的组合分析用于重建Elsinoë属的主干系统发育。基于真菌的单一命名法， Elsinoë提出了 26 种新的组合，用于最初在Sphaceloma中描述的物种。共有 13 个物种被概括化，并附有分类学和系统发育的注释。 本研究中又引入了 8 个新物种，得到分子数据支持的埃尔西诺物种总数达到 75 个。大多数埃尔西诺物种似乎具有宿主特异性，尽管大多数处理的物种仅来自少数分离株，需要进一步收集和致病性研究来重新证实这一结论。