BRYOCRUMIA VIVICOLOR, A RHEOPHYTIC, HYPNACEOUS MOSS, NEW TO THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS, INDIA

Abstract

The Indian Himalayan sector is well known to support the diversified bryophyte species and communities due to varied phytoclimatical conditions met within different dissected topographical zones. Many potential wilderness areas are still waiting to be explored in terms of their exuberant bryodiversity. During a bryoexploratory survey of an unexplored high-altitude area in the Garhwal Himalayan region, we came across an interesting rheophytic moss Bryocrumia L. E. Anderson. The genus Bryocrumia is represented in India by two species, viz. B. vivicolor (Broth. et Dixon) W. R. Buck and B. malabarica Manju, Prajitha, Prakashkumar et W. Z. Ma. Both of these pleurocarpous species are known to be confined in the southern part of the country. From the Indian Himalayan sector, this moss genus has never been documented earlier. Recently, B. vivicolor has been reported for the first time from the Tungnath area (2,100–3,000 m above sea level) in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand state as a new addition to the Western Himalayan moss flora, indicating its new distributional range. This hypnaceous moss was found colonising the slopy, wet, submerged rock surfaces along small streams and seepages in mixed oak forests on way to Tungnath. The key characteristics include its rheophilic habit, stem lacking central strand, variable leaf forms, indistinct double costa and round to obtuse leaf apex with prorate tip cells. The present paper provides taxonomic details of this rare moss, representing its wide geographical distribution in India.