MORPHO TAXONOMICAL AND ECOLOGICAL STUDIES OF MACROFUNGI OF TRANS-HIMALAYAN LADAKH Konchok Dorjey Department of Botany, EliezerJoldan Memorial College, Leh, Ladakh, India Correspondence:
[email protected] ABSTRACT This paper gives an overview of the unique diversity of mushrooms in the cold desert of Ladakh. The paper further describes the fungal phenology pattern and substrate preference of macrofungiin the cold arid region of Ladakh. Ecological adaptation strategies of this group to overcome extreme high-altitude’s climatic conditions of freezing temperature, dryness and intense solar radiations are also discussed. While most of the reports on larger fungi are from tropical areas where the weather conditions are favourable, very few of them are reported from extreme inhospitable cold arid zones of the globe. This survey heretofore enlists 32 species of macro-fungi with discussion on fungal morphotaxonomy and ecological aspects including diversity, distribution, phenological patterns, substrate preferences and cold adaptive strategies, from the cold arid desert of Ladakh. Keywords: Mushrooms, Cold desert, Morphotaxonomy, Distribution, Phenology, Substrates, Adaptive-strategies, Ladakh. INTRODUCTION multitude of enduring strategies to withstand the cold desert’s Mushrooms are perhaps the most mysterious living entity harshest conditions.The present paper gives an overview of the nature has bestowed to mankind and the curious nature lovers unique diversity of mushrooms in the cold desert of Ladakh for centuries. Mushrooms form a large distinct epigeous or with taxonomical and ecological discussion on 32 macrofungal hypogeous fleshy fruiting body when the climatic conditions species (Table 1). (temperature, light, moisture and food supply) are favourable, and are composed of a network of underground living mycelium.