The present communication includes a list of 411 species of lichens under 147 genera reported or described from India after the publication of “Indian Lichens: An Annotated Checklist” by Singh and Sinha (2010). According to latest issue of Plant Discoveries 2016 (Singh and Dash, 2017) 2511 species of lichens are known from India. However, a thorough collation including less popular and online journals where taxonomic novelties in the form of new records are not mentioned, revealed significant increase during the past seven years. By addition of 411 species to the list of Singh and Sinha (2010), now the total number of lichens for India raises up to 2714 species. However, due to nomenclature changes and synonymy, revisions, etc. this data may change. Few species which were not included in Singh and Sinha (2010) are also included in this list. Species simply transferred to other genera without affecting the number tally are not listed here. Like-wise obligate lichenicolous and non-lichenized fungi are not included in the present list. The current list indicates that large number of taxa are reported from the family Graphidaceae (106 spp.) where genus Graphis alone counts 34 species. Large number of taxa are also reported from order Arthoniales (52 species) with Opegrapha representing 17 species. The species listed here follows the pattern of; species name (in bold), reference, and name of the state from where the species is reported. For the references cited in this paper readers may refer ‘Bibliography to the Indian lichens from the year 2010 onwards’ by Joseph et. al. (2018) published in the same issue of this journal.

The present study recorded 36 genera and 115 species of the lichen family Teloschistaceae in India. Three species, i.e. Caloplaca rajasthanica S. Y. Kondr., Upreti et G. P. Sinha, Huriella upre- tiana S. Y. Kondr., G. K. Mishra, Nayaka et A. Thell, and Squamulea uttarkashiana S. Y. Kondr., Upreti, Nayaka et A. Thell, are described as new species. Seven new combinations, i.e. Fulgo- gasparrea awasthii (Y. Joshi et Upreti) S. Y. Kondr., Upreti et A. Thell, Neobrownliella cinnabarina (Ach.) S. Y. Kondr., Upreti et A. Thell, Neobrownliella holochracea (Nyl.) S. Y. Kondr., Upreti et A. Thell, Opeltia flavorubescens (Huds.) S. Y. Kondr. et J.-S. Hur, Oxneriopsis bassiae (Willd. ex Ach.) S. Y. Kondr., Upreti et J.-S. Hur, Upretia hueana (B. de Lesd.) S. Y. Kondr. et Upreti and Megaspora subpoliotera (Y. Joshi et Upreti) S. Y. Kondr., Upreti et A. Thell, are proposed based on nrITS phylogeny in the Teloschistaceae and Megasporaceae consequently. Validation of combination Olegblumia demissa is provided. Molecular data on Fulgogasparrea awasthii andMegaspora subpoliotera are recorded from India for the first time. Four new genera including one species each, i.e. Lazarenkoiopsis ussuriensis (Oxner, S. Y. Kondr. et Elix) S. Y. Kondr., L. őkö et J.-S. Hur, Mikhtomia gordejevii (Tomin) S. Y. Kondr., Kärnefelt, Elix, A. Thell, J. Kim, A. S. Kondratiuk et J.-S. Hur, Olegblumia demissa (Flot.) S. Y. Kondr., L. őkö, J. Kim, A. S. Kond- ratiuk, S.-O. Oh et J.-S. Hur and Pachypeltis intrudens (H. Magn.) Sochting Froden et Arup, as well as the genus Megaspora are reported as new for the Indian lichen biota.Out of the eight lichenogeographical regions of India, the Western Himalayas show the maximum diversity of Teloschistaceae members represented with 110 species followed by the Central Indian region with 38 species. The lichen genus Caloplaca is represented with 50 species in the country followed by Athallia and Rusavskia with 6 species each. The saxi- colous taxa exhibit dominance with 65 species whereas the corticolous and terricolous taxa are represented by 48 and 9 species, respectively. Among the different states of India, Ut- tarakhand showed the maximum diversity represented by 54 species followed by the state of Jammu & Kashmir with 37 species, whereas the Jharkhand and Meghalaya states are represented only by the occurrence of a single species each. A key to the genera and species together with the description, basionyms and synonyms of each species are provided.

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Eastern Himalaya, a part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot region has been assessed for its lichen diversity, based on the own collections, identifications, field observations and published literature. Out of ca 2540 species so far, known from India, 1047 species,1 sub species and 4 varieties distributed in 592 crustose, 321 foliose, 125 fruticose and 9 squamulose growth forms under 212 genera and 63 families, occurring as corticolous, saxicolous, terricolous, foliicolous, and muscicolous constitute c. 41.22 % of the total lichen diversity of the country. The lichen vegetation is recognized into four major types and discussed under (i) tropical lichen vegetation (ii) sub tropical lichen vegetation (iii) temperate lichen vegetation and (iv) subalpine and alpine lichen vegetation. A comparative statistics of diversity of species under dominant families and genera at India and Eastern Himalaya level is given. The region is also active centre of speciation and represented by 107 endemic species including many point endemics. It is pointed out that this rich diversity of lichens is under threat due to various biotic activities. Therefore, conservation measures concerning rich lichen diversity in brief are also discussed. It is also suggested that unexplored high altitude areas are required to be explored thoroughly for getting complete knowledge of the lichen diversity of the region and finally its utilization for the welfare of human beings.

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