botrytis (fungus)

{{Short description|Genus of fungi}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Aardbei Lambada vruchtrot Botrytis cinerea.jpg

| image_caption = Botrytis cinerea infection on strawberry

| taxon = Botrytis

| authority = P.Micheli ex Pers. (1794)

| type_species = Botrytis cinerea

| type_species_authority = Pers. (1794)

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms =

• Botrytis P.Micheli (1729)
• Botrytis sect. Cristularia Sacc. (1886)
• Cephalocladium Rchb. ex Mussat (1900)
• Haplaria Link (1809)
• Polyactis Link (1809)
• Coccotrichum Link (1824)
• Penicillium Fr. (1832)
• Pterodinia Chevall. (1837)
• Phymatotrichum Bonord. (1851)
• Cristularia (Sacc.) Costantin (1888)

}}

Botrytis is a genus of anamorphic fungi in the family Sclerotiniaceae. Botrytis (also known as grey mold) belongs to the group hyphomycetes and has about 30 different species. It is a plant parasite as well as saprophytes on both agricultural and forest trees. It produces stout, dark, branching conidiophores that bear clusters of paler conidia (grey in mass) on denticles from apical ampullae. It is a common outdoor fungus and can be detected in spore trap samples. The fungus is often found growing on indoor plants. Although no mycotoxin has been reported from this fungus, it may cause hay fever, asthma and keratomycosis.{{cite web |url=http://www.pasteurlaboratory.com/common1.htm |title=Pasteur Laboratory |website=www.pasteurlaboratory.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204195741/http://www.pasteurlaboratory.com/common1.htm |archive-date=2012-02-04}} The most common species is B. cinerea, which is a plant pathogen causing gray mould on a very broad range of hosts including some common ornamental plants, such as geranium, begonia, rose, lily, dogwood, rhododendron, dahlia, magnolia, camellia {{Citation|last=Horst|first=R. Kenneth|title=Introduction|date=1990|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8143-7_1|work=Westcott’s Plant Disease Handbook|pages=1–6|place=Boston, MA|publisher=Springer US|doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-8143-7_1|isbn=978-1-4615-8145-1|access-date=2020-11-02|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last1=Sutton|first1=John C.|last2=Li|first2=De-Wei|last3=Peng|first3=Gang|last4=Yu|first4=Hai|last5=Zhang|first5=Pinggao|last6=Valdebenito-Sanhueza|first6=R. M.|title=Gliocladium Roseum a Versatile Adversary of Botrytis Cinerea in Crops|date=April 1997|journal=Plant Disease|volume=81|issue=4|pages=316–328|doi=10.1094/pdis.1997.81.4.316|pmid=30861808|issn=0191-2917|doi-access=free}} and fruits and produce. This fungus is mainly of outdoor origin, although it may be from growth on fruits or flowers brought in from outdoors. Some houseplants can be infected by this fungus, such as cyclamen, poinsettia, chrysanthemum, and gerbera. Other species of Botrytis may be present, such as B. peoniae on peonies, B. squamosa on onion, and B. tulipae on tulips. These species of Botrytis share some common characteristics in pathology and ecology.

The generic name Botrytis is derived from the Greek bótrys ("cluster of", "grapes") and the Latin suffix -itis ("like").{{cite book |last1=Ulloa |first1=Miguel |last2=Aguirre-Acosta |first2=Elvira |title=Illustrated Generic names of Fungi |publisher=APS press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-89054-618-5 |page=53}}