Diversity of epiphytic mosses of Lonavala
Gauri Soman
Department of Botany,Maharshi Dayanand College,Parel Mumbai-400012 (India)
ABSTRACT
Mosses are highly developed groups of bryophytes having a unique position between lower cryptogams and vascular plants prefering marshy swamps or wetland habitats for their abundant growth.They play a important role in conservation of buffer zones or edges between wetland and forest ecosystems habitats. Lonavala is a beautiful hill station in the Western Sahayadri ranges about 102 km from Mumbai. It is surrounded by hills, valleys,wetlands and dense green forest. Mosses grow their abundantly. Present paper deals with diversity, ecological habitats and growth forms of epiphytic species of mosses investigated at Lonavala.