Bacterial Gall of Loropetalum chinense caused by Pseudomonas amygdali pv. loropetali pv. nov.

In 2012, stem gall samples on Loropetalum chinense were sent to Florida diagnostic labs from Alabama and Florida nurseries. A fluorescent pseudomonad was consistently isolated from the galls. The organism was originally identified in Alabama based on 16S rRNA sequencing as Pseudomonas savastanoi, which causes a production-limiting disease of olive.