Cork oak - Hypoxylon mediterraneum de Not.: pathogenicity tests

Hypoxylon mediterraneum (de Not.) Mill. is a fungus closely associatedwith cork oak trees in the last stage of decline. This fungus hasfrequently been considered a strong contributory factor to cork oakdecline. Observations and experiments conducted under field conditions,raise doubts about the role of the fungus even in late stages ofdecline. To clarify this situation several attempts were made to assessfungus pathogenicity. The results obtained confirmed that the fungusdevelops on previously killed tissues, leading to the hypothesis that H.mediterraneum probably functions as a saprophyte.