Foliicolous Lichens of Central Western Ghats, India: Diversity, Distribution and Molecular Study

Foliicolous lichens are organisms that grow on the surface of living leaves of vascular plants, are widely distributed in the world and are characteristic of very wet tropical areas. The Western Ghats of India has one of the areas with higher precipitation levels; however, it has been a little explored area in relation to these taxa. Karnataka state covers much of the Western Ghats and is virtually untouched for the diversity of this artificial group. For this reason was raised to establish the composition of foliicolous lichens present in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka state. Fourteen samplings sites were studied, along some random collection sites, registering a total of 98 taxa of foliicolous lichens. This includes two new species to science. An artificial key for these species was also generated. Maxent species distribution model was generated for all the species. Clone based sequncing process was employed to resolve the species complexities in the genus Strigula.