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592
ISSN: 2229-3469 (Print)
Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): 592-595, July - 2017
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ISSN: 2229-3469 (Print); ISSN: 2231-024X (Online)
Research Article
Pohlia wahlenbergii (F. Weber & D. Mohr) A. L. Andrews, a new
addition to the Bryoflora of South India
T. Thamizharasi*, S. Sahaya Sathish, P. Vijayakanth, R. Palani and A. Vimala
Center for Cryptogamic Studies, Department of Botany, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli
- 620 002. India.
*thamizhthanae@gmail.com
Article Info
Abstract
Received: 01-05-2017,
Revised: 26-06-2017,
Accepted: 30-06-2017
The present study reports the occurrence of the moss species of Pohlia
wahlenbergii in the Kalrayan hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Earliest
workers reported 17 species in India belong to this genus Pohlia. The genus
Pohlia belongs to the family Bryaceae. It is a new addition to the Bryoflora of
South India. Previous reports of this species reported from Sikkim, Manipur,
Kashmir, Mussoorie, Western Himalaya and Munsiyari (Uttarakhand).
Keywords:
Eastern Ghats, Kalrayan
Hills, Moss, new report to
South India, Pohlia
wahlenbergii.
INTRODUCTION
Bryophytes are the non vascular cryptogams.
Among them mosses are highly advanced with
enormous surviving capacity and survive under
wide variety of environmental condition. Kalrayan
hills a major hill range of Eastern Ghats of Tamil
Nadu, which is divided in to two sections, the
Chinna Kalrayan (823m.) and the Periya Kalrayans
(1220m.). Kalrayan hills separate the Kaveri river
basin in to the South from the Paler river basin to
the north. The hills occupied scrub jungles,
deciduous forest and sholas. The range as a whole is
fairly smooth, with soil well suited for plant growth.
Earlier the forest cover was grown due to habitat
uniqueness. But now it is much disturbed by the
human impact. These species belongs to the family
Bryaceae which is one of the most dominant erect
mosses of India. Most of the genus and species of
this family were able to survive in all the major
phytogeographical regions. Kumar (2002) made a
survey on the mosses from Shervaroys hills, 14
species with 4 genera under this family and 3 taxa
of pohlia. Nath et al., (2007) enumerated 28
species. Among which 3 taxa belong to the family
Bryaceae and one of which under the genera of
Pohlia from Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh).
Daniels (2010) listed out the bryophytes of Tamil
Nadu. In this 493 taxa of mosses were reported; out
of these 42 species belong to 8 genera of this family
and 4 taxa belong to the genus of Pohlia other than
Pohlia wahlenbergii. Dandotiya et al., (2011)
reported 1,786 moss species from various regions of
India, where 102 species under 9 genera comprising
in family Bryaceae and 7 taxa in the genus of
Pohlia. Alam et al., (2011) accounts on moss from
Palni Hills, 4 taxa and 3 genera of the family and
include 1 taxa of Pohlia. Govindapyari et al.,
(2012) reported 75 taxa with 20 species and 5
genera of the family and 4 species of Pohlia from
Manipur. Alam (2013) listed out 745 moss species
with 44 taxa comprising of 6 genera of this family,
among these 3 species only enumerated belong to
the genus of Pohlia from Western Himalayas. Alam
(2013) carry out the survey on mosses, 5 taxa and 4
genera of this family and a representation of single
species of Pohlia from Munsiyari (Uttarakhand).
http://biosciencediscovery.com
593
ISSN: 2231-024X (Online)
T. Thamizharasi et al.,
Alam et al., (2015) reported 223 mosses with 30
taxa under 6 genera of this family from Central
India; among these 2 species were belonging to the
genus of Pohlia. Mishra et al., (2016) has given 102
moss species of which 12 species in 3 genera of this
family with a single species of Pohlia from Odisha.
Rawat (2016) provided the list of mosses; within
this family 5 taxa and 3 genera, included single
species of Pohlia from Gangetic Plains, India.
Palani et al., (2017) worked on Bodamalai Hills in
Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, 52 species, 9 taxa
belong to 3 genera of the family Bryaceae. In this
enumeration report only one species belongs to this
genus. Magdum et al., (2017) reported 128 moss
species, 20 taxa belong to 5 genera of this family
and a species of Pohlia from Western Ghats of
Maharashtra. Rawat et al., (2017) account 30 moss
species. Out of which 3 taxa coming under 3 genera
of this family and 1 species belongs to this genus,
from Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The plants were collected from Kalrayan hills,
a major hill range of Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu,
it extend from northeast of Salem District to the
central part of Villupuram District. It lies between
11˚20‛ - 12‛ - 12˚ 05’N latitude and 78˚28‛ - 79˚05’
E longitude. Kalrayan Hills spread over an area of
1095 Km2 and 1220m in height. The study area has
rich natural resources. Extensive survey was made
during and after monsoon from various localities.
This species distributed in different forest types like
evergreen, sholas, semi-evergreen and deciduous
forest. This species found to be in various
substratum such as soil, stone and rocks. After the
desiccation process samples was preserved as
herbarium. The voucher specimens have been
deposited in the Center for Cryptogamic Studies,
Department of Botany St. Joseph’s College
(Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli. Brief description of
the species with photo plates and illustrations are
provided here.
Taxonomical Treatment:
Pohlia wahlenbergii (F. Weber & D. Mohr)
A.L. Andrews
Bryum austroalbicans Müll. Hal. Bot. Jahrb.
Syst. 5: 78 (1887); B. philonoteum Müll. Hal.
Flora. 68: 403 (1885); Hypnum wahlenbergii
F. Weber & D. Mohr Bot. Taschenbuch. 280:
475 (1807); Mniobryum austro-albicans (Müll.
Hal.) Broth. Nat. Pflanzenfam. I(3): 553
(1903); M. wahlenbergii (F. Weber & D.
Mohr) Jenn. Man. Moss. W. Pennsylvania. 146
(1913); Gangulee. Moss. E. India. 2(4): 904
(1974).
Plant is light green to pale, soft, wiry, laxly
grow in tufts. Stem up to ±1.2 cm. high, red,
flexuose and simple and somewhat branched at
base. Leaves ±1 mm. long, erectopatent to
spreading (shrunk and appressed on stem when
dry), lower leaves slightly ovate, lanceolate, acute
apex, apical leaves long, narrower, ovate to
lanceolate, margin serrate, more or less base to apex
of the leaf. Costa strong, percurrent and ending just
below the apex. Leaf cells rectangular to hexagonal
(±48 x 8 µ) at base, margin of basal cells slightly
narrower and smaller narrower cells (±26 x 3µ) at
leaf apex. Sporophyte not seen (Plate-1).
Habitat: Terricolous, rupicolous in ever green,
semi-evergreen and deciduous forest.
Distributions in India: Sikkim, Manipur, Kashmir,
Mussoorie. Western Himalaya, Munsiyari
(Uttarakhand), Kalrayan Hills (Eastern Ghats of
Tamil Nadu).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The present study mainly focused on the
taxa of Pohlia wahlenbergii and their distributions
from the study area. Among the South Indian States
viz. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala
and Tamil Nadu, Kerala have the highest diversity
because of the presence of Western Ghats. Manju et
al., (2005) worked on the bryophytes in Wayanad
hills, a longest one in Kerala and reported a long list
of mosses, where this plant is not found. The
Eastern Ghats is more or less an unexplored region
for the diversity of bryophytes. The Eastern Ghats,
like the Western Ghats, rich in the diversity of
bryophytes, which are evident by the number of
new reports made by Kumar (2002), Daniels (2010)
and Palani et al., (2017). But they didn’t report this
species so far. So this is the first report in South
India for the species Pohlia wahlenbergii.
Acknowledgement
We wish to thank Dr. Manju C. N., Assistant
Professor, Department of Botany, Zamorin’s
Guruvayurappan College, Kozhikode, Kerala for
her kind and valuable help for the confirmation of
the species.
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ISSN: 2229-3469 (Print)
Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): 592-595, July - 2017
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ISSN: 2231-024X (Online)
T. Thamizharasi et al.,
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How to Cite this Article:
T. Thamizharasi, S. Sahaya Sathish, P. Vijayakanth, R. Palani, and A. Vimala, 2017. Pohlia
wahlenbergii (F. Weber & D. Mohr) A. L. Andrews, a new addition to the Bryoflora of South India.
Bioscience Discovery, 8(3):592-595.
