DIVERSITY DISTRIBUTION OF LICHENS FROM MARUTHAMALAI HILLS OF TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

The paper reports the occurrence of 31 species of lichens belonging to 21 genera and 11 families for the first time to the Maruthamali hills, the part of Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, South India. The distribution of each species and distinguishing characters facilitated their identification. The majority of the species belonged to crustose form (65%) followed by foliose (32%) and leprose (3%). The family Physciaceae was leading by 23 % followed by Parmeliaceae (19%). Many lichen species (58%) were recorded at 450 m altitude. It is concluded that the many localities in the Western Ghats still remains relatively unexplored and these areas are subjected to further exploration for new discovery and new additions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]