Biodiversity of endophytic fungi from seven herbaceous medicinal plants of Malnad region, Western Ghats, southern India

A total of 3611 fungal isolates were recovered from 4200 leaf segments incubated from 7 medicinal herbs during monsoon, winter and summer seasons. These fungal isolates belonged to teleomorphic Ascomycota (23.5%), anamorphic Ascomycota producing conidiomata (17.4%), anamorphic Ascomycota without conidiomata (46.9%), Zygomycota (1.42%) and sterile forms (10.6%). Chaetomium globosum, Aspergillus niger, Aureobasidium pullulans, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., Pestalotiopsis spp., Trichoderma viridae, Cladosporium cladosporioides, were frequently isolated from more than one host plant. The number of endophytic isolates was higher in winter than in monsoon and summer seasons.