J. Indian bot. Soc. e-ISSN:2455-7218, ISSN:0019-4468 Vol. 96 (1 & 2) 2017 :119-135 Studies on lower groups have always been neglected in Gujarat; therefore, distribution and diversity of Agaricaceae in Gujarat state is investigated for the first time. Gujarat is known for its varying climates starting from moist deciduous forest (south Gujarat, a part of Western Ghat) to pure desert conditions (Great Rann of Kuchh). In spite of this, taxonomic exploration was carried out for the first time. The present study we reports 46 species from which four species are reported previously while rest of the 38 species are documented for the first time for the state. Highest numbers of species (39) are found in Agaricus while Macrolepiota, Cystoagaricus and Podaxis have single species each. Maximum diversity is observed in the districts like Dangs, Ahawa, Navsari, Narmada, Junagadh and Chhotaudepur while minimal diversity is observed in Rajkot, Kutchh and North Gujarat (Palanpur, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha). Among them Agaricus bisporus, A. blazei, A. campestris, Chlorophyllum molybdites, Coprinellus micaceus, Cystoagaricus trisulphuratus, Leucoagaricus rubrotinctus, Leucocoprinus brebissonii, Podaxis pistillaris are common while Macrolepiota procera is collected only from one locality. We expect much more species in Agaricaceae than reported in the present study and we suggest further studies to understand the diversity of Agaricaeae in the state. Key words: Agaricus, Chlorophyllum, Coprinus , Coprinellus, Leucoagaricus, Leucocoprinus, Macrofungus , Mushroom, Podaxis Received on January 10, 2017 Accepted on February 25, 2017 www.indianbotsoc.org DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF AGARICACEAE IN WESTERN PART OF INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO GUJARAT STATE AJIT M. VASAVA, RINA D. KOYANI, RAVI S. PATEL AND KISHORE S. RAJPUT* 1 Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara 290002, India. *Email: ksrajput-botany@msubaroda.ac.in Date of online publication: 30th June 2017 Gujarat state is located on the most western part of India and bounded by the Arabian Sea at the southwest and coordinated at 20°6' N 68° 10'E to 24° 42' N, 74° 28' E and possesses the largest seacoast among all the states (Tadvi 2013). The total geographical area of the state comprises 2 of land mass of 1,96,204 km (75,755 sq miles) from which a little or less than 20 lakh hector of land is under forest cover which is unevenly distributed but the major concentration is found on the eastern hilly Saurashtra region. The temperature of the state ranges from 1° C to 46° C. The extensive variation in geophysical and climatic conditions resulted into formation of different forest types. The state has elevated and plane land in addition to the desert at the northern part hence the rainfall received in the state varies from region to region. Gujarat has four major types of forests viz. Tropical moist Deciduous Forest; Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest; Northern Tropical Thorn Forest and Littoral and Swamp Forest (Champion and Seth 1968). Therefore, the state is gifted with great diversity of natural ecosystems ranging from evergreen to moist deciduous and dry deciduous to semiarid or pure dessert conditions (Tadvi 2013). In spite of such variations in climatic conditions and forest types, fungal diversity of the state is poorly documented (Rajput et al. 2015). In 1996, Gujarat Ecological Commission documented the biodiversity of state and released first list of 164 fungi. Thereafter, few sporadic reports appeared on the fungal diversity of the state but majority of them are either concentrated around the human pathogens (Gajjar et al. 2011, Bhavsar et al. 2012, Nawal et al. 2012, Katara et al. 2013, Panchal et al. 2013, Nasit et al. 2013) or on plant pathogens (Arya et al. 2008; Maharshi and Thaker 2012, Nagdesi and Arya 2012a, b, 2013, Dhingani et al. 2013). When working on wood decay and fungal diseases in forest trees, we noticed that there is no much information on fungi occurring in the Gujarat. Therefore, on the basis of our study and available literature, a checklist of 339 fungal species is documented for the first time for the state (Rajput et al. 2015). Thus, the main aim of the present study is to enlist the diversity and distribution of family Agaricaceae in Gujarat state, western India.