Frullania bolanderi Austin (Marchantiophyta: Jubulaceae), a rare, disjunct liverwort in the Himalaya

Genus Frullania is represented in India with 72 taxa, including 63 from the Eastern Himalayan localities1, thus constituting an important part of the Indian bryoflora. During a recent exploration in Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India, few plants of Frullania were identified as Frullania bolanderi Austin. This species has its main distribution in boreal North America2–5 and Europe6, while in Asia it has been reported from a few localities in Japan6,7 and Russia8–13. The species thus shows a transoceanic disjunct distribution between North America and Europe5. A report of the species from Caucasus indicated that it may have further southward distribution14.Thus the present study from the Himalaya extends its range of distribution further southeastwards, possibly attributed to longrange dispersal mechanism as suggested by Frahm15. While discussing the disjunctive distribution of some North American species in Europe, Frahm16 speculated Frullania oakesiana and F. bolanderi as possibly holarctic species rather than circumpolar. The current global distribution and the present study from the Himalayaconfirm its holarctic distribution as speculated by Frahm16. © 2021,Current Science. All Rights Reserved.