Some species are significant pests causing diseases such as apple canker, Nectria twig blight, and coral spot in orchards.

It is ubiquitous in cool temperate Europe and North America and appears to be an introduced species in New Zealand and Australia.

In North America, Nectria infections have had economically important impacts on forestry and forest products including aspen, red oak, maple, beech, poplar, and birch.

Species of Nectria also occur in warmer climates including island groups such as Hawaii.

There were around 800 epithets proposed for Nectria sensu lato with 200 estimated species (Booth 1959,[2] Rossman 1999).