The tree‐parasitic fungus Cryphonectria carpinicola discovered on European chestnut and European hornbeam in Azerbaijan

The ascomycetous fungus Cryphonectria carpinicola is typically found in its asexual form on the European hornbeam, and its sexual state has only recently been discovered in deadwood of different Carpinus species in Japan. Recently, this fungus has been added to the EPPO Alert List due to its increasing incidence in the EPPO region and a possible East Asian origin. Although extensive field campaigns investigating chestnut blight in Europe have never detected this fungus on Fagaceae, a historical collection from a Japanese chestnut tree has demonstrated its ability to infect species in this family. This report expands the known distribution range of C. carpinicola to include Azerbaijan and provides the first evidence of its infection of Castanea sativa in the chestnut forests of the Greater Caucasus.