Taxonomic Studies of Meliolales: Identification Manual

Meliolaceous fungi are commonly known as black or dark mildews. In contrast to the saprophytic sooty moulds, these are the obligate biotrophic parasites and are host specific, flourish in tropics. Beeli in 1920 was the first to give the consolidated account of this group. Subsequently, Stevens in 1927/28, gave an excellent account of this group. The Monographic work of Hansford in 1961/63 gave an elaborated account of this group, supplemented with line drawings and nomenclature. This group  attracted the attention of several workers in the tropics, resulting in the addition of several taxa. To understanding the biodiversity and geographical distribution of an individual organism, the correct identity of an individual is vital.

To do so, one should have a thorough knowledge about the till then known taxa. Keeping all this in mind, Hosagoudar et al. wrote. The Meliolineae - A supplement, which gave an account of more than 300 taxa of this group and updated the knowledge till then. Now there is a lapse of more than a decade, more than three hundred species and infra specific taxa including new genera and family have been added to this group. To fill the lacuna and gap in our knowledge on this group and to keep the researchers with till date knowledge, the present book has appeared.