Ramalina obtusata, a new lichen flora addition to Southern Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The supportive results of the present study on survey of lichens facilitated the identification of the new additions. This is the pioneer attempt to identify new lichen flora occurrence in Southern Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Based on the morphological, chemical tests and matching identification keys, it is concluded that the specimen Ramalina obtusata (Arnold) Bitter is a new record documented in Tamil Nadu. The present study facilitates the identification of such species and suggests the most common lichen species in the study area. A voucher specimen (BU/LH/2020-367) of Ramalina obtusata (Arnold) Bitter is preserved in Bharathiar University lichen herbaria, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India for further studies to investigate their biological activities.

Keywords

• Ramalina obtusata
• New record
• Southern Western Ghats
• Lichen herbaria
• Identification key