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Foliicolous fungi of Silent ValleySairandhri, having evergreen forests and grass land.Important places of this forest division are PoochiparaPeak, Thondakulam, Thoppimala, Chempatty, etc.Wallakad forest division: It is situated 24km awayHosagoudar & Rijufrom Sairandhri, having more grasslands and sholaforests than the evergreen forests. Sispara, Anginda,Cheriya Anginda, Wallakad, Cheriya Walakad are thehigh altitudinal places in this section.In such an interesting forest, persistent effortshave been put along with a team of researchers andthe consolidated account of the present work on thefoliicolous fungi is the maiden venture (Image 6).METHODSImage 4. Riparian vegetationImage 5. High altitude shola forestsImage 6. Research team in the forestInfected plant parts were noticed and collectedcarefully in the field and notes were made regarding theirpathogenicity, nature of colonies, nature of infection,locality, altitude, etc. For each collection, a separatefield number was given. Each infected plant parts wascollected separately in polythene bags along with a hosttwig (preferably with the reproductive parts) to facilitatethe identity of the corresponding host. These collectionswere pressed neatly and dried between blotting papers.The host plants were identified by matching them withthe authentic herbarium materials and also by consultingthe experts. However, the knowledge of identification offlowering plants is the pre-requisite for this study.In the laboratory, nail polish technique (Hosagoudar& Kapoor 1984) was used to study the structural andmorphological characters of the fungi. Since the desiredquality and quantity of nail polish is difficult to procurefrom the market, this problem eased by preparing axylene-thermocol solution. 5ml or desired quantityof xyline poured in a container, very bright and cleanthermocol cut into minute pieces, added to xyline, mixedthoroughly till getting it to a particular consistency andpoured it into air tight bottle for use. A drop of xylinethermocolsolution applied on the selected colonies,carefully thinned with the help of a fine brush withoutdisturbing the colonies. Colonies with hyperparasites(wooly nature) were avoided. The treated colonies alongwith their host plants kept in dust free chamber forhalf an hour. When the applied solution dried, a thincolourless “film” or “flip” was formed with the coloniesfirmly embedded in it. For soft hostparts, flip was liftedup with a slight pressure on the upper side of the leavesand just below the colonies or an edge of the flip easedand subsequently the entire flip peeled-off by using thethumb nail and ring finger of the left hand. In case ofhard host parts, the flip was eased-off with the help of arazor or scalpel. A drop of DPX was added on clear slideand the flip was spread properly on it. Care was takento avoid air bubbles while mounting. One or two moreJournal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 05 March 2013 | 5(3): 3701–37883709