Puccinia coronata var. coronata: Crown rust of glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea)

Abstract

Crown rust (Puccinia coronata Corda sensu lato) is a complex of various species and subspecies, each of which alternates between parasitizing a grass host and a host in the families in Rhamnaceae and/or Elaeagnaceae. Crown rust of oats, is a devastating pathogen of oats and regularly reduces yield by 5 – 10 %. Recently, a close relative has been observed in the U.S. that affects two invasive species, glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus) and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea). Where the two species coexist, rust may cause severe defoliation and drastically reduce seedset of glossy buckthorn, and cause premature leaf senescence and reduced growth in canarygrass.