Wright (1890) recorded a white root rot in New Zealand attacking fruit trees and a number of other host plants. Massee (1896) described a new species, Rosellinia radiciperda, which he claimed to be the perithecial stage of this white root rot fungus. The type collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been examined and material typical of this species has been collected. Ascospore cultures have been prepared and have been found to differ from those obtained from white root rot in Pinus sp. and Eucalyptus sp. at Rotoehu (Gilmour, 1966a). Pathogenicity tests were also carried out, and the ascospore cultures from R. radiciperda were found to be non-pathogenic (Gilmour, 1966a). Although this question needs further investigation, a number of cultures from plants infected with white root rot agree with overseas cultures of Dematophora necatrix (the conidial stage of Rosellinia necatrix), and these New Zealand records have been listed under this species. It occurs throughout the country and can at times be troublesome in orchards, nurseries, and plantations.

MATERIAL EXAMINED: NEW ZEALAND, North Island, Wellington Region, Wainuiomata Valley, in forest surrounding Wainuiomata Reservoir, on decaying stems and aerial roots of Freycinetia banksii, 7 May 1997, S.R. Whitton HKU(M)14078 (IFRD). NOTES: Rosellinia necatrix is characterised by ascomata that are tightly clustered together, short stipitate and surrounded by a well developed subiculum of Dematophora necatrix Hartig. The asci have a subapical apparatus 6.5–10 µm high, 5–6.5 µm upper width and 2.7–5.5 µm lower width. The ascospores are 30–47 × 5.5–8 µm, fusiform, brown, surrounded by a thin gelatinous sheath and have a germ slit 7–22 µm long (Petrini, 1992). Ascomatal morphology, especially the presence of a short stipe, the presence of copious anamorph surrounding the ascomatal base, and the asci and the ascomatal morphology and dimensions make placement of this specimen in R. necatrix appropriate. Ascospore size in this specimen is slightly longer than that described for R. necatrix by Francis (1985) and Petrini (1992); this is assumed to be due to natural variation.