Additions to the lichenized and lichenicolous fungi of Jammu & Kashmir from Kishtwar High Altitude National Park

The present study reports 14 lichenized and two lichenicolous fungi new to the mycota of Jammu & Kashmir. The lichenized fungi are Buellia aeruginascens (Nyl.) Zahlbr., Caloplaca pachycheila Poelt & Hinter., Cladonia cervicornis ssp. verticillata (Hoffm.) Ahti, Hafellia curatellae (Malme) Marbach, Hafellia subnexa Marbach, Hafellia tetrapla (Nyl.) Pusswald, Leptogium askotense D.D.Awasthi, Nephromopsis laii (A. Thell & Randlane) Saag & A.Thell, Polycauliona phlogina (Ach.) Arup, Frödén & Søchting, Pyxine cognata Stirt., Rinodina conradii Körb., Rinodina intermedia Bagl., Rinodina oxydata (A.Massal.) A.Massal., and Squamulea squamosa (B.deLesd.) Arup, Søchting & Frödén. The lichenicolous fungi include Abrothallus microspermus Tul. and Lichenoconium lecanorae (Jaap) D.Hawksw. The species are enumerated along with their present distribution.

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online); ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)  (Sheikh et al. 2006). Due to great altitudinal variation, unique terrain, diverse vegetation, and varied climate, J&K offers a wide range of habitats for the growth and colonization of lichenized fungi.
Kishtwar High Altitude National Park (KHANP) situated in district Kishtwar of J&K is surrounded by beautiful snow-capped Himalaya and lies between coordinates 75.990E longitude and 33.582N latitude. The national park covers an area of approximately 2,200 km 2 with an altitude range of 1,200-6,000 m. KHANP experiences temperate to alpine climatic regimes. The average temperature during the summer months is 16 °C and in winter months it ranges 9-11 °C. The average annual rainfall is about 920 mm. The upper reaches of KHANP are characterized by severe and prolonged winter and short summer seasons. The prominent vegetation includes both coniferous and broad-leaved deciduous forests. Smith (1931), Schubert &Klement (1966), andAwasthi &Singh (1970) are the pioneer contributors to lichen study in J&K. Later, several researchers (Sheikh et al. 2006(Sheikh et al. , 2009Khan et al. 2010;Solan et al. 2010;Kumar et al. 2012;Khare et al. 2020) made significant contributions towards understanding the lichen mycota of the region. Recently, Khare et al. (2020) compiled an inventory reporting 424 lichen species from the J&K, while Kumar & Sharma (2020) added five species of parmelioid lichens from KHANP as new additions to the lichen mycota of J&K.
The studies on the lichenicolous fungi in India have been initiated recently with the publication of the first list of these fungi by Zhurbenko (2013) that included 42 taxa based on the collections from J&K. Afterwards, Joshi (2018), and Joshi et al. (2016Joshi et al. ( , 2018Joshi et al. ( , 2020a made noteworthy contributions to this group of organisms from J&K. However, no exhaustive documentation of the lichenized and lichenicolous fungi has been attempted for KHANP. While inventorying the lichen mycota of KHANP the authors came across several interesting specimens of lichenized and lichenicolous fungi.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The lichen specimens were collected from different localities of the KHANP during 2017-2020. The samples were preserved in the herbaria of University of Jammu (HBJU) and CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (LWG). The morpho-anatomical characters were studied under a stereo-zoom (Leica S8APO) and compound microscope (Leica DM2500), and identified by following the literature (Awasthi 1991(Awasthi , 2007Joshi 2008;Hawksworth et al. 2010;Sheard 2010;Singh & Sinha 2010). The chemistry was studied through spot tests and thin layer chromatography (solvent system C) was performed following Orange et al. (2001). A brief description of only lichenicolous fungi are provided as they are not readily available.  (Hafellner et al. 1989).

DISCUSSION
The 16 species reported in the present study belong to 12 genera and eight families. Most of these species are crustose except for Cladonia cervicornis subsp. verticillata which is fruticose, while Leptogium askotense, Nephromopsis laii and Pyxine cognata are the foliose species. The study reports two interesting species of Rinodina, namely R. conradii and R. intermedia having 3-septate and submuriform ascospores respectively. Such species of Rinodina are rare in India, and previously, their distribution was confined to Uttarakhand and West Bengal. It is quite surprising that earlier workers overlooked both the species in the area, which is considered as the 'hot spot' of lichen diversity.  Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2021 | 13(12): 19799-19807 19805  In the recent inventory of lichenized fungi for Jammu & Kashmir, Khare et al. (2020) listed 424 species, however, they missed the inclusion of four species (Cetraria potaninii, Montanelia sorediata, Xanthoparmelia somloënsis, and X. taractica) reported by earlier workers. Meanwhile, Kumar & Sharma (2020), while compiling the family Parmeliaceae reported five species as new to J&K from KHANP. After the inclusion of four species missed by Khare et al. (2020), five species reported by Kumar et al. (2020) and 14 species reported in the present study, the total number of lichenized fungi in Jammu & Kashmir rises to 447 species. Compared to other states within western Himalaya, this number is less, whereas Himachal Pradesh (ca. 520 species) and Uttarakhand (ca. 1,200 species) with similar climatic conditions are well-explored for lichen diversity. Similarly, in the case of lichenicolous fungi, after adding two new records, the total is raised to 68 species, while neighbouring Himalayan states such as Uttarakhand harbour 101 species and Himachal Pradesh records 32 species.