New Zealand, Auckland, Freemans Bay, on Vitex lucens fruit, coll. P.R. Johnston C1252.1, 26 Aug. 2007 (ICMP 18532; PDD 92930). on Berberis sp. leaf spot, coll. N. Waipara C69 (ICMP 18734); Auckland, Mangere, on Berberis glaucocarpa leaf spot, coll. N. Waipara C7, Jun. 2007 (ICMP 18528); Auckland, Waitakere Ranges, on Kunzea ericoides leaf endophyte, coll. S. Joshee 7Kun3.5, Jan. 2004 (ICMP 17324); Auckland, Waitakere Ranges, on Prumnopitys ferruginea leaf endophyte, coll. S. Joshee 8Mb5.1, Jan. 2004 (ICMP 18533); Auckland, Waitakere Ranges, on Dacrycarpus dacrydioides leaf endophyte, coll. S. Joshee 5K5.9, Jan. 2004 (ICMP 18535); Auckland, St Johns, Auckland University campus, on Coprosma sp. incubated berries, coll. B. Weir C1282.1, 30 Apr. 2009 (ICMP 18577); Auckland, Mt Albert, on Acmena smithii lesions fruit, coll. P.R. Johnston C847, 9 Sep. 1987 (ICMP 18529); Auckland, Glen Innes, Auckland University campus, on Coprosma sp. incubated berries, coll. B. Weir C1282.3, 30 Apr. 2009 (ICMP 18536); Auckland, Orakei, on Ligustrum lucidum leaf spot, coll. C. Winks & D. Than M136.3 (ICMP 18748); Auckland, Waitakere Ranges, on Podocarpus totara leaf endophyte, coll. S. Joshee 3T5.6, Jan. 2004 (ICMP 17326); Auckland, Waitakere Ranges, Huia, on Geniostoma ligustrifolium leaf endophyte, coll. S. Bellgard M128, 8 Jul. 2010 (ICMP 18540); Auckland, Waitakere Ranges, Huia, on Coprosma sp. rotten berry, coll. S. Bellgard M130-2, 8 Jul. 2010 (ICMP 18541); Auckland, Waiheke Island, Palm Beach, on Meryta sinclairii leaf spot, coll. P.R. Johnston C1310.1, 21 Mar. 2010 (PDD 99186; ICMP 18742); Auckland, Tiritiri Island, on Dysoxylum spectabile fruit rot, coll. P.R Johnston C1220, 12 Feb. 1997 (PDD 67042; ICMP 18740); Northland, Whangaruru, on Vitex lucens fruit rot, coll. P.R. Johnston C880.1, L. Brako, P. Berry, 28 Jan. 1988 (PDD 48408; ICMP 18530); on Berberis sp. leaf spot, coll. N. Waipara C77 (ICMP 18735), on Lonicera japonica leaf spot, coll. N. Waipara J3 (ICMP 18736); Wellington, Waikanae, on Coprosma sp. leaf, coll. B. Weir C1285, 14 May 2009 (ICMP 18548); Auckland, Wenderholm Regional Park, on Melicytus ramiflorus leaf endophyte, coll. G.C. Carroll MELRA, 16 Sep. 2009 (ICMP 18543).

Colonies grown from single conidia on Difco PDA 70–85 mm diam after 10 d, several isolates with restricted growth, 50–55 mm diam with an irregularly scalloped margin. Aerial mycelium cottony to dense cottony, tufted near centre, grey to dark grey, scattered, small, dark-based acervuli and large, globose, stromatic structures partially embedded in agar, these sometimes splitting apart and forming conidia. In reverse typically with pinkish-orange pigments, variable in intensity, in some isolates this colour partially hidden by more or less concentric bands of dark grey pigment. Conidia variable in shape, simple to broadly lobed, sometimes in groups, sometimes intercalary, about 7–17 × 4–9.5 μm. Perithecia not seen in culture.

Geographic distribution and host range: Confirmed only from New Zealand, but GenBank records suggest C. aotearoa also occurs in China (see below). In New Zealand this species is common on a taxonomically diverse set of native plants, as both a fruit rot and a leaf endophyte, and has also been isolated from leaves of several species of naturalised weeds.

All isolates in the C. gloeosporioides complex from New Zealand native plants studied here belong in the Kahawae clade, and most of these are C. aotearoa; a small number of leaf endophyte isolates from New Zealand native trees are C. kahawae subsp. ciggaro. The C. aotearoa isolates have been isolated as endophytes from symptomless leaves as well as from rotting fruit from native trees. Morphologically indistinguishable from isolates of C. kahawae subsp. ciggaro, this species is distinguished genetically with all genes sampled, except ITS. The GAPDH gene tree splits C. aotearoa into two well supported clades, but these do not correlate to any other features, either geographic or biological. Isolates associated with distinctive and common leaf spots on Meryta sinclairii, first recorded by Beever (1984), belong in this species. Whether isolates of C. aotearoa from other hosts are able to cause the same disease on Meryta is not known.Also in C. aotearoa are a range of isolates from weeds that have become naturalised in New Zealand. We assume that C. aotearoa is a New Zealand native species. It has a broad host range amongst native plants and has apparently jumped host to some weeds. It has never been found associated with cultivated plants or as a rot of cultivated fruit. Colletotrichum aotearoa may also occur in China. ITS sequences from isolates from Boehmeria from China (GenBank records GQ120479 and GQ120480) from Wang et al. (2010) match exactly a set of C. aotearoa isolates. ITS between-species differences within the C. gloeosporioides complex are very small, so this match needs confirming with additional genes. C. aotearoa was referred to as Undescribed Group 2 by Silva et al. (2012b).

Holotype: New Zealand, Auckland, Glen Innes, Auckland University campus, on Coprosma sp. incubated berries, coll. B. Weir C1282.4,30 Apr 2009, PDD 101076; ex-type culture ICMP 18537.