Mycoflora associated with Aegle marmelos, a medicinal plant of the forests of Western Ghats, India

Abstract

Aegle marmelos, a common medicinal plant of the forests of Western Ghats in southern India, was screened for its phylloplane, endophyte and saprotrophic fungal diversity. Comparison of the three microhabitats was done to determine the overlap and uniqueness in species composition. Similarly, within the endophytes overlap and uniqueness in species composition of the three tissue types was calculated. Impact of collection sites and seasons on the diversity, individual fungal colonization and tissue colonization was determined. The average fungal colonization of Aegle marmelos under different conditions was found to be 82 percent. The study resulted in the documentation of 51 sporulating and non-sporulating isolates of microfungi.