Notes on Occurrence of Fruticose Lichens in Joram Top, Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh with 10 New Records to the State

The paper enumerates 22 fruticose lichens species collected from 'Joram Top', a small village in Ziro Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. The lichen taxa belong to four genera, Cladonia (7 spp. ), Ramalina (5 spp. ), Teloschistes (1 sp. ) and Usnea (9 spp. ). The species of Usnea and Ramalina were most common in the area and found growing as epiphytes over tree trunks and twigs, whereas species of Cladonia were found growing over soil and rocks in moist places. Teloschistes found to be a rare lichen in the area was growing intermingled with Usnea and Ramalina. The study also resulted in 10 species as new records to the lichen flora of Arunachal Pradesh ? Cladonia subradiata, C. subulata, C. verticillata, Ramalina hossei, R. pollinaria, Teloschistes flavicans, Usnea eumitrioides, U. lucea, U. luridorufa, and U. spinosula. The lichens are considered as indicators of air pollution. The luxuriant growth of fruticose lichens clearly indicates that Joram Top area is still free from air pollution.