The coelomycete Melanconiopsis microspora is introduced as a new species from bamboo culms collected in Argentina. Its comparison with the type species of the genus, M. inquinans (from which it differs in the smaller conidia), also resulted in a reappraisal of M. olivacea which is referred back to Sphaeropsis as S. olivacea, the third accepted species in the genus. M. elzoi is probably accommodated in Endomelanconium as a fourth accepted species; notes on the known species in this genus are given.

A new species of the coelomycete genus Rhizosphaera found on needles of Pseudotsuga menziesii in Germany is described, illustrated and compared with related species of the same genus. The conidia of R. pseudotsugae are smaller, especially in diameter, than those of the most similar related species, R. oudemansii, and unlike other Rhizosphaera species the Hormonema state is produced in culture only at temperatures below 18 °C.

A new species, Trichoderma stromaticum, was isolated from ‘witches' broom’ of cacao (Theobroma cacao) in Brazil caused by Crinipellis perniciosa. The Trichoderma was reported earlier as T. viride and T. polysporum. Trichoderma stromaticum reduced new inoculum through the suppression of basidioma formation. It is characterised by having conidia that slowly become yellow-green in agar culture and by stout, ‘Pachybasium-like’, phialides formed on the surface of stromatic structures. The closest relations of T. stromaticum are T. harzianum and T. virens.

Hebeloma radicosoides sp. nov. is described, illustrated and characterised. It superficially resembles H. radicosum in having a long-rooting stipe with a well-formed, membranous annulus and in having preference for animal wastes as its resources. Its pileus is yellower than that of H. radicosum, and it fruits after addition of urea to soil, whereas H. radicosum does not. It also fruits on various animal wastes whereas H. radicosum specifically fruits on mole or mouse middens. Unlike H. radicosum, H. radicosoides has no distinct odour. Hebeloma radicosoides also resembles Hebeloma luchuense and H. spoliatum in having a long-rooting stipe and in fruiting on urea-treated soil, but differs from them by having a yellowish scaly pileus and distinct, membranous annulus.

A new species of Ramulispora, R. cerealis sp. nov., isolated from the stem base of a barley plant, is described.

The Executive Editor wishes to draw attention to an unfortunate spelling error in the name of an author which was not corrected in proof, for which he apologizes. The name of the last author on the paper ‘Genetic diversity of isolates of the Leptosphaeria maculans species complex from Australia, Europe and North America using amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis’ (Mycological Research104: 772–781, July 2000) is Barbara J. Howlett, not ‘Howle’ as printed on the paper and in the list of contents on the back cover. This will be given correctly in the contents list for the whole volume to be issued with the December 2000 number.