Foliicolous Fungi of Andaman Islands, India Communication V.B
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Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 February 2014 | 6(2): 5447–5463 Foliicolous fungi of Andaman Islands, India Communication V.B. Hosagoudar 1, Sam P. Mathew 2 & Divya Babu 3 ISSN 1,2,3 Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695562, Online 0974–7907 India Print 0974–7893 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected] OPEN ACCESS Abstract: One month field collection tour resulted in the collection of more than 500 foliicolous fungi. Of these, 152 collections have been identified, resulted in recording 60 fungal taxa. Of these, one new genus (Andamanomyces), 16 new species (Andamanomyces fragariae, Asterediella anaxagoreae, Asteridiella colocasiae, Asterina eleocarpigena, Asterostomella dhanikariensis, Asterostomella farrargunjensis, Irenopsis andamanica, Meliola andamanica, Meliola canarifolia, Meliola chukrasiicola, Meliola harrietensis, Meliola myristicacearam, Meliola parishiae, Meliola savarkarii, Meliola ternstroemiicola and Schiffnerula chukrasiae) and one new variety (Meliola pithecellobii var. indica) are discovered. Meliola palmicola is reported here for the first time from India. All these taxa are listed but the novel taxa are described and illustrated in detail. Keywords: Andaman Islands, foliicolous fungi, India, new species. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3652.5447-63 Editor: H.C. Nagaveni, Retd. Scientist, Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru, India. Date of publication: 26 February 2014 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # o3652 | Received 03 August 2013 | Final received 07 December 2013 | Finally accepted 31 December 2013 Citation: Hosagoudar, V.B., S.P. Mathew & D. Babu (2014). Foliicolous fungi of Andaman Islands, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6(2): 5447–5463; http://dx.doi. org/10.11609/JoTT.o3652.5447-63 Copyright: © Hosagoudar et al. 2014. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Funding: This project is sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. Competing Interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Author Details and Contribution: V.B. Hosagoudar is the PI of this project and has identified the fungi; Sam P. Mathew has identified the host plants and the Divya Babu is research scholar. Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Paramjit Singh, Director, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata; Dr. C. Murugan, Head, Dr. T.A.M. Jagadeesh Ram and Dr. Lalji Singh, Senior Scientists, Botanical Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Circle, Port Blair, for their guidance and help in various ways during the field collection tour to Andaman Islands. Forest officials were generous in permitting us to collect the infected leaves for the research. Dr. P.G. Latha, Director, JNTBGRI is thanked for the facilities. 5447 Foliicolous fungi of Andaman Islands Hosagoudar et al. INTRODUCTION from sea level to an altitude up to 732m at Saddle Peak (North Andamans). From phytogeographical point Andaman Islands, the pristine Indian archipelago in of view, the insular flora of the Andaman and Nicobar the Bay of Bengal is about 647 nautical miles away from Islands is remarkable as the transitional zone vegetation the Coromandel coast of the Peninsular India, located between the South and Southeast Asia as well as the between 92012”–93017’’E & 6045’’–13045’’N, comprise only stronghold of Malesian floristic elements within about 325 islands, islets and rocks which cover an area the Indian Territory. The geographical isolation of of 6,408km2 (Image 1). Geologically, these islands are these islands from the major land masses of South and considered as the emergent peaks of a submerged Southeast Asia over millions of years have resulted in mountain range in continuation with the Arakan– unique endemism and coupled with multi–dimensional Yoma Mountains of the Myanmar. The entire length floristic affinities towards nearer and distant geographical of Andaman group of islands is estimated to be 467km regions such as northeastern India, Southeast Asia, while the maximum width is about 51.5km. Landfall Malesia and to the Western Ghats of the peninsular Island demarcates the northern end of the Andaman India. According to a recent official estimation carried Archipelago while Little Andaman Island occupies the out by Pandey & Diwakar from the Botanical Survey of extreme southern end of this group. The two volcanic India in 2008, the Bay Islands are known to host about islands, viz., Narcondom Island and Barren Island, 2,428 Angiosperm taxa including 294 endemics. demarcate the eastern boundary while Interview Island The general topography of the islands is very and Sentinel Islands delimit the western extremity. The irregular and undulating. The irregular deeply indented Andaman Archipelago consists of four major groups of coastal lines result in many creeks and coves. The islands such as North Andamans, Middle Andamans, highest point in the Bay of Bengal is the ‘Saddle Peak’ South Andamans and the Little Andaman. The former (732m) in North Andamans. The other major heights three groups are collectively known as Great Andamans. of Andaman archipelago are Mount Diavolo (505m), The biggest island in this group is South Andaman (2,021 Mount Oldham (304m), Mount Angelica (458m) of the km2) and smallest is the Aves Island (0.2km2). Middle Andamans, Mount Ford (428m) of the Rutland The toponymy of Andaman Islands is in different Island (South Andamans), Mount Harriet ranges of names since 2nd century. Ptolomy, the famous Roman the South Andamans which reaches the maximum geographer referred to these islands as ‘Agmate’ or height of 460m at Mount Koyob of the same ranges. ‘Aginae’ in his travelogues. It has been mentioned The other major heights are the Mount Hext (424m), as ‘Timattive’ in ‘Tanjor Incriptions’ of 1050AD. The Mount Warden (422m), Mount Harriet (398m), Mount Malayan people who came to these islands for capturing Goodridge (321m), Mount Carpenter (310m) and the slaves referred these islands as ‘Handuman’. It appears Mount Nappier (304m). that the present name has originated from ‘Hanuman’, The insular types of vegetation ranging from shallow the monkey god of the Indian epic, Ramayana. These marine ecosystems to the inland forest ecosystems islands are also known as Bay Islands, since in the Bay could be broadly classified into two different zonal types of Bengal. ‘Kala Pani’ is another name, perhaps given by such as coastal or littoral vegetation and the inland the Indian freedom fighters during the Indian freedom vegetation, based on the proximity of the sea. The zonal struggle. This name is derived from the Sanskrit word types have been further subdivided into several types ‘Kal–Pani’ which means the water of death or place of based on the floristic composition owing to the influence banishment but not the ‘black water’ as mentioned in of other edaphic, climatological and physical factors many literature. Whatever be the different names in such as humidity, soil types, daily tides, retentivity of the remote past, these islands are referred to the name soil, altitude, etc. The coastal or littoral forest vegetation given by the Malayans with slight phonetic changes constitutes marine aquatic vegetation, mangrove forest seems to be more logic in toponymy of these islands. vegetation, tidal swamp vegetation and littoral forest The proximity of these islands towards equator vegetation along the sea coasts. The inland vegetation contributes tropical climate with an average temperature comprises the giant evergreen forests, Andaman tropical of 300C, rainfall of 3100mm and relative humidity of evergreen forests, southern hill top tropical evergreen 77%, facilitate luxuriant growth of rainforests. According forests, semi evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, to an official estimation, around 83% of the land area of grasslands, inland aquatic vegetation and manmade these islands are covered by dense lowland rain forests vegetations. which could be designated as ‘humid tropics’ ranging However, in such an interesting floristically rich 5448 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 February 2014 | 6(2): 5447–5463 Foliicolous fungi of Andaman Islands Hosagoudar et al. List of Fungal Taxa Acroconidiellina arecae (Berk. & Br.) M.B. Ellis Bay of Bengal Materials examined: TBGT 6528, PBL 121, 16.xii.2012, on leaves of Areca catechu (Arecaceae), Billiground, Mayabandar, North Andaman, coll. V.B. Hosagoudar et al. Andamanomyces gen. nov. V.B. Hosagoudar (Asterinales, Lembosiaceae) urn:lsid:indexfungorum.org:names:807674 Fungus foliicolous, ectophytic. Mycelium ectophytic, brown, septate, branched, appressoriate. Appressoria Andaman solitary but mostly in couplets like Gangamyces, Islands unicellular, lumen between both the appressoria is continuous or separated by cell wall of the mycelial cells. Baratang Island Thyriothecia oval, ellipsoidal with central vertical suture formed by dissolving or splitting; asci globose, 8–spored, bitunicate; ascospores brown, conglobate, oblong, uniseptate, constricted at the septum. Etymology: Fungus named after the Andaman Islands. Type: Andamanomyces fragariae sp. nov. This genus is similar to Gangamyces but differs from it in having elliptical thyriothecia with central vertical suture as is in the case of Asterolibertia