Pythium stipitatumsp. nov. isolated from soil and plant debris taken in France, Tunisia, Turkey, and India

Pythium stipitatum is a slow-growing oomycete and has been isolated from soil samples and plant materials from France, Tunisia, Turkey and India. Its morphological characteristics are reminiscent of those of Pythium ramificatum, discovered in Algeria by the corresponding author. Unfortunately, the Algerian isolate was not deposited in any culture collection and ultimately got lost. Those were the days when molecular description of fungi was not a fashion; hence, no molecular characteristics of the Algerian isolates were deposited to the GenBank. Moreover, its coralloid antheridial branches made it an easy prey to be considered as synonymous to Pythium minus. Because there are no living stra…