Cryptogam Biodiversity and Assessment

Contributions of Dr D D Awasthi to the world of Lichenology

2022-11-07T16:43:35+0530

Dr. Dharni Dhar Awasthi is popularly known as 'Father of Lichenology in India' for laying
a strong foundation for lichen research in India. Starting from the year 1948 to till 2010 he
produced over 90 important publications, including research articles, chapters, monographs
and books. Dr. Awasthi described a total of four new genera, 74 new species and proposed 68
new combinations. Various lichen researchers described two new genera and dedicated a total
21 species in the name of Dr. Awasthi. In this article, we discuss important contributions and
list the novel taxa described by Dr. Awasthi and taxa dedicated to him, together with a complete
list of his publication.

Bunodophoron awasthii, a new lichen species from India

2022-10-30T15:54:05+0530

Bunodophoron awasthii, a new lichen species is described from the Eastern Himalaya, India.
It is characterized by the solid, erect, non-isidiate, crowded, richly branched and anastomosing
thallus with mostly ± flattened main branches and subterete to terete lateral branches, terminal
to subterminal apothecia, hyaline to brownish grey, globose, 6.3–9.4 μm diam. ascospores,
sphaerosphorin and stictic acid complex as lichen substances.

Pyrenula awasthii sp. nov., containing Lichexanthone and Anthraquinone from India

2022-10-31T10:40:57+0530

Pyrenula awasthii is described as new to science. The new species is characterized by the corticate
UV+ yellow thallus, yellow to orange K+ red medulla, solitary perithecia immersed in thalline
warts, non-inspersed hamathecium and muriform 40–57 × 17.5–25 μm ascospores. The new
species is so far known from Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur states.

Diversity of Macrolichens of Wayanad district, Kerala, India with some New Records

2022-10-30T15:44:38+0530

The present paper deals with the enumeration of macrolichens of Wayanad district, Kerala,
India. More than 500 lichen specimens were studied and analysed which resulted in 97 species
of macrolichens in the study area. Of the 97 species, fifteen were found to be new to Kerala
state, and among them, two species were new to the Indian Peninsula.

Additional records of Pyrenocarpous lichens form the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

2022-10-30T16:06:40+0530

Nineteen species of pyrenocarpous lichens are added to the lichen flora of the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, India. Lithothelium nanosporum (C. Knight) Aptroot, Nigrovothelium
inspersotropicum Aptroot & Diederich, Pseudopyrenula media Aptroot & Diederich, Pyrenula
ciliata Aptroot, P. cocoes Müll. Arg., P. fulva (Kremp.) Müll. Arg., P. septicollaris (Eschw.)
R.C. Harris, P. sexlocularis (Nyl.) Müll. Arg. and P. subglabrata (Nyl.) Müll. Arg. are reported
as new records for India.

Additions to the Lichen Biota of undivided Nagaon District with special reference to Tylophoron protrudens Nyl., a new record to Assam State of India

2022-10-30T16:12:15+0530

An enumerative account of 31 lichen species new to undivided Nagaon district of Assam, species
under 21 genera and 14 families is provided. Among the 31 species 27 are crustose, two are
leprose and species each of, foliose and squamulose. Tylophoron protrudens Nyl. is recorded
for the first time to the lichen flora of Assam and its brief description is provided. The species
were collected from seven localities and maximum number of lichen species has been recorded
from Suang Forest area. A detailed exploratory work on lichens will definitely contribute to the
lichen biota of India as well as Assam as most of the forests of erstwhile Nagaon district has
not been explored yet.

Physiochemical Response of the Lichen genus Everniastrum as Bioindicator of Ambient Air Nitrogen Deposition along with an Elevation Gradient in a Temperate-alpine Habitat of Western Himalaya

2022-10-30T16:22:20+0530

The high elevation habitats of the Himalayas in the past few decades are experiencing intense land
use changes due to tourism-related anthropogenic activities. These habitats receive moderate to
higher deposition of Nitrogen through vehicular, agricultural practices, and other urban exhausts.
Nitrophobic lichens of the family Parmeliaceae largely populate the high elevation habitats. The
current study explores the capability of the Parmelioid genus Everniastrum as a bioindicator of
nitrogen pollution in a temperate-alpine habitat. The study explored the correlation between the
nitrogen accumulation in the thallus of two common Everniastrum species of the landscape to
the photobiont chlorophyll, carotenoids, and chlorophyll degradation. The study concluded that
one of the species Everniastrum cirrhatum can be an appropriate bioindicator of ambient air N
deposition and can be used in long-term biomonitoring experiments.

Primary Investigation of Lichenized Fungi in and around High-altitude Sacred Wetland Hemkund in Western Himalaya

2022-10-30T16:29:32+0530

The present study deciphers the lichen diversity in and around the high-altitude sacred wetland
Hemkund in Uttarakhand. The study revealed an occurrence of 90 species of lichens belonging
to 45 genera and 18 families. Among the different lichen families of the Hemkund region,
Parmeliaceae with 18 species belonging to 13 genera is the dominant, followed by Cladoniaceae
with 17 species belonging to 3 genera and Peltigeraceae with 15 species belonging to 4 genera.
Among the different growth forms of lichens; foliose comprises the highest number of 49
species, followed by 16 dimorphic lichens taxa. The area exhibits maximum number of rock
and soil inhabiting lichens with 39 and 19 spp. Thus, this study reveals the lichens richness in
the region providing new insights that can be used as a cumulative indicator of environmental
quality, conservation measures and future bio-monitoring studies.

Study on distribution of Roccella montagnei Bél., across the Marine National Park and Sanctuary in Gulf of Kachchh, West Coast, India

2022-10-30T16:33:07+0530

Several field explorations were undertaken during 2015–2018 to study the distribution of Roccella
montagnei Bél., across the Marine National Park and Sanctuary in Gujarat. R. montagnei is
the only fruticose lichen of family Roccellaceae recorded from MNPS area. A total of 108
specimens were collected from bark and rocks. The epiphytic lichens were recorded from
17 species of plants. The study revealed that Ceriops tagal, a mangrove plant and Salvadora
persica, a mangrove associated plant found to be the major substratum for the lichens followed
by Rhizophora mucronata. Out of the 19 islands surveyed R. montagnei is recorded from 15
islands of which Bhens bid and Bhaidar showed luxuriant growth. The information gathered in
the study will act as baseline data and useful for future ecological and biomonitoring studies in
the National Park. The abundant growth of R. montagnei in the study area can serve as resource
for the bioprospecting and identification of secondary metabolites.

Lichenological studies in Nepal: A critical review

2022-10-30T16:03:28+0530

Lichens are some of the ubiquitously distributed symbionts with a circumpolar distribution. The
Himalayan habitats are lichenologically among the most researched region in Asia. European
and Japanese researchers initiated the lichenological research in the Nepal Himalayas, which was
later carried out predominantly by Indian lichenologists. The cumulative diversity of lichens in
Nepal constitutes 882 species belonging to 186 genera and 61 families. Though the lichenological
studies in Nepal largely constitute taxonomic and diversity enumeration studies, works in other
applied fields have started in the last decade. The present review refers to the various taxonomical
studies on lichens of Nepal by various researchers. The review also investigates the works done
in the field of biomonitoring and bioprospection. The review conclusively discusses the prospects
of lichen research in the country regarding the rich lichen biodiversity recorded so far and the
various developments in the field of modern lichenology.