A Preliminary Observation Of Lichen Flora In Three Districts Of Jammu & Kashmir

A total of 77 lichen species belonging to 38 genera and 18 families are enumerated from the three districts of Jammu & Kashmir. Kistwar district has maximum diversity of lichens represented by 43 species where as Jammu and Rajouri districts exhibits 30 and 19 species respectively. The crustose lichens have marked dominance over the other lichen forms represented by 41 species while as foliose and fruticose lichens are represented by 35 and 1 species respectively. Corticolous (growing on tree bark) lichen species exhibits their dominance in the area represented by 46 species while as saxicolous (growing on rocks) lichen species are represented by 28 species.