Epitypification of Ophiostoma galeiforme and phylogeny of species in the O. galeiforme complex

Ophiostoma galeiforme was described first in 1951 from Larix kaempferi in Scotland, where it was found to be associated with the bark beetles Hy- lurgops palliatus, Dryocoetes autographus, and the am- brosia beetle Trypodendron lineatum. The taxonomy of this fungus has been uncertain because of a lack of sexual structures on the type specimen and con- tamination of a preserved ex-type culture. The aim of this study was to clarify application of the species name, O. galeiforme, by designating an epitype and to consider phylogenetic relationships of the species. Nineteen isolates resembling O. galeiforme from dif- ferent parts of the world were used, including collec- tions from Pinus sylvestris infested with Tomicus pi- niperda in Scotland and the contaminated ex-type culture. Morphological characteristics of isolates from Sweden, South Africa, Scotland, Chile and Aus- tria corresponded well with those originally de- scribed for O. galeiforme, and an isolate from Scot-