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Abstract
Taxonomy of the epiphyllous liverworts in India has been reviewed and their diversity and distribution has been discussed. A total of 160 species, one subspecies and two varieties of epiphyllous liverworts belonging to 23 genera in eight families have been recognized in Indian bryoflora, distributed only in eastern Himalaya and the north-east, Western Ghats, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Eastern Himalaya, including the north-east, with 133 taxa shows the maximum diversity of epiphylls, whereas Sikkim with 80 taxa is the richest amongst the States. Lejeuneaceae with 131 species belonging to 16 genera is the most prolific family of epiphyllous liverworts accounting for over 80 per cent of their total diversity in India, while Cololejeunea with 54 species is the most dominant genus. Twenty species are endemic to India, of which 11 are restricted to eastern Himalaya, three to Western Ghats, and one to Andaman & Nicobar, while five species are common between eastern Himalaya and the Western Ghats.
Highlights
The vast geographical expanse of India and its extreme diversity of habitats have resulted in almost all types of ecosystems ranging from scrub to tropical evergreen rain forests, coastal mangroves to temperate and alpine vegetation in the country, with 10 distinct biogeographical zones, 27 biotic provinces and over 400 biomes
These biological attributes have contributed towards a rich biological diversity, including that of bryophytes, and have made India as one of the 17 mega biodiverse countries of the world ranking fourth in Asia and eleventh in the world (Mittermeier et al, 1997; Williams et al, 2001), accounting for about 11 per cent of the total global floristic resources
A careful analysis of all the published binomials of epiphyllous taxa in India revealed the occurrence of 160 species, one subspecies and two varieties belonging to 23 genera in eight families in three bryogeographical territories of the country, viz. Eastern Himalaya, Western Ghats and the Andaman & Nicobar (Table 1)
Summary
The vast geographical expanse of India and its extreme diversity of habitats have resulted in almost all types of ecosystems ranging from scrub to tropical evergreen rain forests, coastal mangroves to temperate and alpine vegetation in the country, with 10 distinct biogeographical zones, 27 biotic provinces and over 400 biomes. The biogeographically strategic location of the country at the confluence of three major global biogeographical realms, viz. Indo-Malayan, Eurasian and Afro-tropical has contributed to the significant features of the Indian flora by the intermingling of the floristic elements from the surrounding countries These biological attributes have contributed towards a rich biological diversity, including that of bryophytes, and have made India as one of the 17 mega biodiverse countries of the world ranking fourth in Asia and eleventh in the world (Mittermeier et al, 1997; Williams et al, 2001), accounting for about 11 per cent of the total global floristic resources. Even in some mosses, where the conducting tissues are fairly evolved, and liverworts where rhizoids are abundantly present, they normally depend on surface absorption of water and nutrients Because of their poikilohydric nature, they grow on a variety of surfaces including abandoned articles, where usually no other plants will grow except algae, fungi and lichens. In India eastern Himalaya, including the northeastern region, Western Ghats and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are the only bryogeographical regions of the country from where the epiphyllous liverworts have been recorded so far (Fig. 1)
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