Ecological Distribution of Some Epiphytic Ferns of Garhwal Hills, Uttarakhand

The ferns inhabit hills and the altitude play a significant role in determining the species distribution. It is interesting that among the epiphytes, polypods are dominant. Most of the polypodiaceous ferns are small and inconspicuous. Polypods primarily grow as epiphytes but climbers, lithophytes and terrestrial members are not scare. The composition of epiphytic ferns also change with altitude. The ecology, distribution and phytogeography of polypodiaceous ferns of Garhwal are represented by 8 genera and 35 species. Data on the distribution of these members is appended. Majority of the epiphytic members grow in the upper hill forests between 1500–2400 m. Studies on habitat ecology, population assessment, host range of epiphytes, sensitivity and pressure of epiphytic ferns have been presented. The most common species of the area are: Arthromeris wallichiana, A. lehmanii, Drynaria mollis, D. propinqua, Lepisorus kashyapii, L. excavatus, L. loriformis, L. nudus, L. tenuipes, L. clathratus, Microsorum membranaceum, Phymatopteris ebenipes, P. malacodon, P. stewartii, Polypodiastrum argutum, Polypodiodes amoena, Pyrrosia flocculosa, P. lanceolata and Pyrrosia stictica.