Box Rust or Boxwood Rust - Puccinia buxi

Puccinia buxi, box or boxwood rust, is widespread throughout Europe and rarely reported on native hosts in China and Japan. It has been intercepted at various ports in North America over the past decades and was discovered in Pennsylvania on recently received nursery stock of boxwood from Greece. Although not widespread by natural means, it does appear to be readily transported on nursery stock. Puccinia buxi is the subject of a Phytosanitary Alert issued by the USDA-APHIS http://www.pestalert.org/oprDetail.cfm?oprID=202.

Puccinia buxi Sowerby 1809

Spermogonia, aecia and uredinia absent.

Telia amphigenous, on indefinite spots, scattered or confluent, hemispherical, pulvinate, compact, soon exposed, dark chestnut-brown.

Teliospores oblong to clavate, rounded above, not thickened, rounded or attenuate below, 55-90 × 20-35 µm, up to 100 µm long, walls 2.0-2.5 µm thick, brown, upper cell with apical germ pore, lower cell with superior germ pore; pedicel hyaline, persistent, very long reaching 160 µm.

See Hiratsuka et al. (1992) and Grove (1913) for a more detailed description.

Host range: On many species of Buxus especially B. sempervirens, traditionally used for boxwood hedges, but also native species in Asia, B. microphylla and B. sinica.

Geographic distribution: Widespread in Europe, also known from China and Japan, recently discovered in Pennsylvania.

References:

Braun, U. 1982. Die Rostpilze (Uredinales) der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. Feddes Repert. Beih. 93: 213-334.

Foister, C.E. 1961. The economic plant diseases of Scotland. Techn. Bull. Dept. Agric. Fish. Scotland 1: 1-210.

Gjaerum, H.B., and Sunding, P. 1986. Flora of Macaronesia. Checklist of rust fungi. Sommerfeltia 4: 1-42.

Gonzalez Fragoso, R. 1917. Introduccion al Estudio de la Florula de Micromicetos de Cataluna. Publ. Junta Ci. Nat. Batcelona, Ser. Bot., 187 pages.

Majewski, T. 1979. Grzyby (Mycota). Tom XI. Basidiomycetes. Uredinales II. Polska Akademia Nauk., 462 pages.

Zhang, N., Zhuang, J.-Y., and Wei, S.-X. 1997. Fungal flora of the Daba Mountains: Uredinales. Mycotaxon 61: 49-79.

Zhuang, J.-Y., Ed. 2003. Flora Fungorum Sinicorum. Vol. 19. Uredinales (II). Science Press, Beijing, 324 pages.

Nomenclature

Specimens in BPI

Additional distribution data

Suggested citation: Yun, H.Y. Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory, ARS, USDA. . Invasive Fungi. Box Rust or Boxwood Rust - Puccinia buxi. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from http://nt.ars-grin.gov/sbmlweb/fungi/index.cfm .