LAUSR

A new species of genus Cololejenea (Spruce) Schiffn. has been discovered near Jakhol in Govind Wild Life Sanctuary (GWLS), Uttarakhand, growing on leaves of Porella plumosa (Mitt.) Parihar. A critical and comparative study has revealed that this plant is clearly distinct from the earlier known species of the genus and it is described here as Cololejeunea lobulopapillata A.K.Asthana, Sahu & D.Gupta sp. nov. This species is characterised by distant, ovate–triangular leaves with arched antical and postical margins of leaf lobe, leaf cells dorsally unipapillose, lobules covering nearly 1/2 the leaf length, cells characteristically uni-papillose, first tooth large distinct, 1-celled, hyaline papilla present, second tooth indistinct. A detailed account of the species is provided. About 370 valid species of Cololejeunea are known around the globe (Pócs 1996; Asthana and Srivastava 2003; Ilkiu-Borges and Lobato 2004; Dey and Singh 2012; Pócs et al. 2014; 2015 Gradstein et al. 2016; Singh and Pócs 2016). In India 58 species of Cololejeunea have been reported up to now (Asthana and Srivastava 2003; Dey et al. 2010; Asthana and Alam 2013; Singh et al. 2016; Manju et al. 2017). The genus comprises very delicate and small liverworts growing mostly as epiphyllous or corticolous populations and belongs to sub tribe Cololejeuneinae Gradst. Tribe Lejeuneeae Dumort., subfamily Lejeuneoideae of family Lejeuneaceae. During a survey of a bryophyte collection from Govind Wild Life Sanctuary, Uttarakashi district of Uttarakhand of western Himalaya, India an interesting tiny leafy liverwort was identified from a sample collected near Jakhol which was growing on the leafy liverwort P. plumosa. It has been identified as a new species of Cololejeunea anddesignated as Cololejeunea lobulopapillata A.K.Asthana, Sahu & D.Gupta sp. nov. and belongs to subgenus Cololejeunea (Reiner-Drehwald 1995; Pócs and Bernecker 2009; Pócs et al. 2014). In India, this subgenus is represented by three other species C. jamesii (Austin) M.E.Reiner & Pócs, C. karnatakensis G.Asthana & S.C.Srivastava and C. nilgiriensis G.Asthana & S.C.Srivastava (Asthana and Alam 2013). Voucher specimens have been deposited in the Bryophyte Herbarium, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (LWG). Cololejeunea lobulopapillata A.K.Asthana, Sahu & D.Gupta sp. nov.