Description in vivo (CBS H-20777): Leaf spots absent or yellowish green, angular, 1–2 mm diam, delimited by leaf veins. Caespituli hypophyllous, olivaceous to pale brown. Mycelium internal, consisting of hyaline, branched, septate, 1–2 μm diam hyphae. Stromata absent or only formed as small aggregations of a few swollen substomatal hyphal cells. Conidiophores medium brown, arising from stomata, in fascicles of up to 12, unbranched or occasionally branched, straight to flexuous, usually up to 3-septate, occasionally with a single basal septum, 40–180 × 3–3.5 μm, geniculate at the apex. Conidiogenous cells integrated, terminal, somewhat swollen, 3–6.5 μm in width, polyblastic, proliferating sympodially, with conidiogenous loci flat, somewhat thickened and darkened, 1–2 μm diam. Conidia solitary, olivaceous to pale brown, thin-walled, smooth, straight or gently curved, basal cell ellipsoid-doliiform and obconical truncate without protruding, apical cell narrowly long-ellipsoid to subcylindrical, 21–68 × 4.5–8.5 μm, (0–)1(–3)-euseptate, constricted at basal septum, with hilum somewhat thickened, darkened and refractive, 1.5–2 μm diam. Description in vitro (on V8; CBS 131547): Mycelium composed of hyaline to pale olivaceous brown, delicate hyphae, 2–2.5 μm width. Conidiophores macronematous, pale olivaceous brown to brown, simple or branched, straight to sinuous, smooth, paler towards the apex, 25–300 × 2.5–3.3 μm. Conidiogenous cells integrated, terminal, proliferating sympodially, polyblastic, conidiogenous loci located on the shoulders and the apex, slightly thickened and darkened, 2.5 μm diam. Conidia solitary, pale olivaceous brown to brown, cylindrical to obclavate, obconical truncate at the base, rounded or pointed at the apex, 13–37.5 × 2.5–5 μm, (0–)1-euseptate, constricted at the septum, hilum slightly thickened, darkened and refractive, 2.5 μm diam.

Passalora was the first genus introduced for cercosporoid hyphomycetes (Fries 1849) and a review of the taxonomical history of the genus has recently been published by Braun et al. (2013). In one of the most comprehensive examinations on this generic complex, Crous & Braun (2003) concluded that various genera (e.g. Mycovellosiella, Phaeoramularia, Fulvia) should be merged under the oldest name Passalora. After this revision Passalora included cercosporoid species with solitary, fasciculate to synnematous conidiophores and conidia formed singly or in chains, but in all cases with conspicuous (thickened and darkened) conidiogenous loci (scars) and mostly non-scolecosporous, pigmented conidia. This new concept was also supported by first molecular sequence analyses (Crous et al., 2000, Crous et al., 2001b). However, with the addition of more species and more phylogenetic markers, Passalora s. lat. has proven to be para- or polyphyletic (Thomma et al., 2005, Crous et al., 2009b, Crous et al., 2009d, Crous et al., 2013a). In addition, the type species has not been subjected to DNA sequence analyses before, and the passalora-like clades distributed throughout the Mycosphaerellaceae are not clearly connected with morphological groups within Passalora (e.g. mycovellosiella-like). In this study, we propose a good candidate for the epitypification of the type species of Passalora (CBS 131547). Phylogenetically, this strain forms a single species clade in all phylogenetic analyses performed (Fig. 1, clade 34; Fig. 2, clade 22), but without a strong link to other genera. With the additional epitypification of the type species of Fulvia (Fulvia fulva; Fig. 1, clade 59), Mycovellosiella (Mycovellosiella cajani; Fig. 1, clade 7) and Phaeoramularia (Phaeoramularia gomphrenicola; Fig. 1, clade 61), these names are resurrected and applied to different monophyletic clades and are no longer regarded as synonyms of Passalora s. str. The value of features such as mycelium internal and/or external, conidia solitary or in chains, remains doubtful and barely applicable for the discrimination of cercosporoid genera. Morphologically, Passalora s. str. is rather different from common passalora-like species (Fig. 15), in having sparsely septate, flexuous conidiophores, and predominantly smooth, olivaceous, 1–2-septate conidia constricted at the basal septum, with somewhat to distinctly thickened, darkened, and refractive loci. The placement of the hundreds of passalora-like species that are not known from their DNA is not yet possible, and these would for the interim have to be retained in Passalora s. lat. as a wide, morphologically circumscribed genus, pending cultures and results of DNA sequence analyses.

epitype: CBS H-20777, ex-epitype culture: CBS 131547