| Summary: | <i>Colletotrichum</i> species are plant pathogens, saprobes, and endophytes in many economically important hosts. Many studies have investigated the diversity and pathogenicity of <i>Colletotrichum</i> species in common ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. However, <i>Colletotrichum</i> species occurring in aquatic plants are not well known. During the investigation of the diversity of endophytic fungi in aquatic plants in southwest China, 66 <i>Colletotrichum</i> isolates were obtained from aquatic plants there, and 26 of them were selected for sequencing and analyses of actin (ACT), chitin synthase (CHS-1), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and β-tubulin (TUB2) genomic regions. Based on morphological characterization and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, 13 <i>Colletotrichum</i> species were recognized, namely, <i>C. baiyuense</i> sp. nov., <i>C. casaense</i> sp. nov., <i>C. demersi</i> sp. nov., <i>C. dianense</i> sp. nov., <i>C. fructicola</i>, <i>C. garzense</i> sp. nov., <i>C. jiangxiense</i>, <i>C. karstii</i>, <i>C. philoxeroidis</i> sp. nov., <i>C. spicati</i> sp. nov., <i>C. tengchongense</i> sp. nov., <i>C. vulgaris</i> sp. nov., <i>C. wuxuhaiense</i> sp. nov. Two species complexes, the <i>C. boninense</i> species complex and <i>C. gloeosporioides</i> species complex, were found to be associated with aquatic plants. Pathogenicity tests revealed a broad diversity in pathogenicity and aggressiveness among the eight new <i>Colletotrichum</i> species.
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