Leaf spots irregular, pale brown in centre, brown to tan at margin. Asexual morph on PDA: Conidiomata solitary, scattered, black, raising above surface of culture medium, subglobose. Conidiophores cylindrical, hyaline, smooth-walled. Conidiophores often indistinct. Conidiogenous cells discrete, hyaline, simple, filiform, 5.5–10.0 μm long. Conidia 18.0–24.5 × 4.0–5.5 μm, mean ± SD = 20.5 ± 1.9 × 5.3 ± 0.3 μm, fusiform, straight to slightly curved, 4-septate, smooth, greyish brown; basal cell conical, hyaline, thin-walled, 2.8–6.0 μm long; with three median cells, dark brown, concolorous, septa and periclinal walls darker than the rest of the cell, together 11.5–16.0 μm long, mean ± SD = 13.2 ± 1.2 μm; second cell from base 3.4–5.5 μm; third cell 3.3–4.7 μm; fourth cell 3.5–5.1 μm; apical cell hyaline, conic to subcylindrical, 3.1–5.3 μm; with 1–3 tubular apical appendages (mostly 1) without knobs, arising from the apex of the apical cell, 10.0–20.5 μm long, mean ± SD = 16.0 ± 4.0 μm; basal appendage filiform, short.

Colonies on PDA reaching 70.0–80.0 mm diam after 7 d at 25 °C, growth rate 9.0–12.0 mm/day, edge entire, whitish to pale honey coloured, with sparse aerial mycelium on the surface, with black, gregarious conidiomata; reverse similar in colour.

China, Hainan Province: East Harbour National Nature Reserve, 23 May 2021, Z.X. Zhang. On diseased leaves of Ilexchinensis, HSAUP210087, living culture SAUCC210087; on diseased leaves of Ilexchinensis, HSAUP210088, living culture SAUCC210088.

In the present study, two strains (SAUCC210087 and SAUCC210088) from symptomatic leaves of Ilexchinensis were clustered to Pestalotiopsislicualicola clade (Geng et al. 2013) based on phylogeny (Fig. 1). Morphologically, our strains were the same as P.licualicola, which was originally described with an asexual morph on leaves of Licualagrandis in China. The sexual morph of P.licualicola was undetermined yet. This is the first time this species has been reported in Ilexchinensis (Aquifoliaceae) in China.