Black leaf spot of Japanese persimmon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Diospyros kaki</Emphasis>), a new disease caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Adisciso kaki</Emphasis> sp. nov.

A new defoliating disease with severe leaf spot of Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki) was found in Shimane Prefecture. A fungus, isolated from the ascospores that had formed on the leaf spot, was demonstrated to reproduce the symptoms on leaves and described as a new species, Adisciso kaki, based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses. This fungus is characterized by small ascomata without clypeus, obclavate to broadly cylindrical asci with an amyloid apical apparatus, and hyaline ascospores with a submedian septum. We coined the name black leaf spot (Kurohoshi-rakuyo-byo, in Japanese) for the new disease.