Systemic Botrytis cinerea isolates were collected from non symptomatic fruits of Rubus fruticosus (blackberry) and Fragaria x ananassae (strawberry) and from roots and leaves of wild Primula vulgaris (primrose) and Taraxacum agg. (dandelion) in Brighton, Bath, and Reading separated by 80km or more. Isolates recovered from a Primula x polyantha crop at Reading were also tested. Approximately 300 isolates were genetically characterised using 9 published microsatellite primers and the presence of two transposable elements, boty and flipper. In wild primula and dandelion, incidence of non-symptomatic infection was very variable both geographically and between years. Isolates were usually haploid at all loci, with most haplotypes unique and no detectable linkage disequilibrium between loci.