The aim of this study was to identify seven
Armillaria
isolates obtained from diseased tea bushes in Kenya using pectic enzyme profiles, PCR‐RFLP and IGS‐I DNA sequence data. The combination of these identification methods confirmed the presence of three distinct
Armillaria
groups. One of these groups resembled Zimbabwean group I (
A. fuscipes
). The second group was phylogenetically closely related to
A. mellea
ssp.
nipponica
. The third group was different from all other African isolates examined, but had isozyme patterns, especially of pectin methylesterases (PMEs), similar to those of isolates related to
A. mellea
ssp.
nipponica.
Analyses of sequence data suggested that this group is phylogenetically closely related to
A. hinnulea
from Australia and New Zealand.