Manglicolous marine fungi on Avicennia and Rhizophora along Kerala coast (India).

Abstract: Thirty-two manglicolous marine fungi belonging to 23 ascomycetes, 1 basidiomycete and 8 mitosporic fungi were observed from Avicennia and Rhizophora along Kerala coast, South India. Twelve species were found common on both hosts. The number of marine fungal species recorded on Avicennia was greater than Rhizophora. Fifteen species were found specific on Avicennia and five on Rhizophora. Furthermore, each host had its own most frequent, frequent, occasional and sporadic species. Key words: Marine fungi Wood samples Avicennia Rhizophora INTRODUCTION [7]. In India studies on marine fungi occurring in The mangrove ecosystem is a typical tropical and workers [8-14]. However, less research has been coastal vegetation, found in intertidal regions of undertaken on the occurrence of manglicolous marine deltas and backwater areas known for high organic fungi on specific mangrove trees. Researchers studied the matter production [1-3], which supports the nearby marine fungal communities on 8, 2, 5 and 4 mangrove