Ramularia rubella turns the leaves of dock plants red. The color comes from rubellin, a photodynamic toxin built on an anthraquinone skeleton that damages plant tissue once light activates it.
This fungus belongs to the Ascomycota and infects Rumex species, the docks and sorrels. It was first described from Rumex aquaticus in Germany, and it now has a wide geographic range across its Rumex hosts.
Researchers are studying R. rubella as a possible biological control agent for Rumex obtusifolius.
Distribution and Habitat
Ramularia rubella has a wide geographic range and infects several Rumex species across it.
Presence is most often seen in late spring. May is the most common month, with April close behind, and numbers fall through the winter months.
A smaller rise appears from September through October, after a dip in midsummer.
Photos
Photographs from via iNaturalist, licensed under CC0 1.0., by Coralie via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., and by Fyodor Pudovikov via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., credited on each photo.
Ecology and classification
Classification
- Phylum
- Ascomycota
- Class
- Dothideomycetes
- Order
- Mycosphaerellales
- Family
- Mycosphaerellaceae
- Genus
- Ramularia
- Species
- Ramularia rubella
Sources
- GBIF Species names and classification
- iNaturalist Photos
- Wikidata Common names and conservation status
- Wikipedia Summary extract
