I
have posted two blogs as part of the series in respect of the initiatives
undertaken by the Forest Department, Research Wing of Uttarakhand highlighting
the concept and ecological importance of the destinations.The last in this series is the ‘Open Air
Fernery’ that was inaugurated on the 12th of September, 2022 by
renowned expert of ferns Nilambar Kunetha, who has also guided in curating the
project.The fernery has the largest collection of fern species, second
to only Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research
Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram. However, it is the country’s
first open-air fernery in natural surroundings, which is not under any
poly-house/ shade house, but in open air conditions.The Ranikhet fernery, situated in the Kalika
range region, has around 120 different types of fern, spreads over four acres
of land at an altitude of 1,800 meters.The facility has been developed under Central Government’s ‘Compensatory
Afforestation Management Funds Management and Planning Authority’
(CAMPA) scheme, by the Research Wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department
over a period of three years.The
fernery is home to fern species that are both endemic to the state as well as
those that are from other States, especially the Western Ghat region. Some of
these ferns have medicinal value, while some are threatened species that
require care and protection.Therefore,
this project has been conceived with the dual objectives of ‘Conservation of the ferns’ as well as
to ‘create awareness about the
ecological and day to day role these ferns play’ in our lives.
Various types of fern species identified and named
Another fern species identified and indented
Some more ferns
Many of my
readers, may by now be intrigued to know, as to what are Ferns exactly are.Ferns are the oldest form of plants, which had evolved from the
multicellular Bryophytes into plants
that had proper vascular system with tree trunk like structures.The earliest forms of plants were single cell
organisms that multiplied through fission i.e. breaking into two cells. They
were followed by Bryophytes that were
multi celled, but these too propagated through fission.The Ferns were more like present day plants
with a proper vascular system i.e. root, stem & leaves/false leaves that
had specific internal channels like Xylem & Phloem to transmit water &
food throughout the plant and classified as Pteridophytes
(more recently the taxonomical classification has been changed as Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group) .The Ferns pre-date the present day flowering
plants that are classified as Angiosperms
and existed in abundance even during the pre-historic periods, during the times
when the Dinosaurs roamed the Earth.The
basic difference between the Angiosperms
and Pteridophytes is that while the
former uses flowers & seeds as means of reproduction for
dispersal/propagation, the later uses spores for reproduction and
propagation.I am putting in a few
diagrams to make the concept of life cycle and reproduction of Ferns (as
sourced from the internet), for explaining it in a pictorial manner -
Parts of a fern (Sourced from the internet)
Life cycle of a fern (Sourced from the internet)
Ferns first appear in the fossil record about 360
million years ago in the late Devonian, but many of the current families and
species did not appear until roughly 145 million years ago in the early
Cretaceous, after flowering plants came to dominate many environments. The fern
Osmunda claytoniana is a
paramount example of the evolutionary trends and the paleontological evidence shows
that it has remained unchanged, even at the level of fossilized nuclei and
chromosomes, for at least 180 million years.
Ferns and fern are the
second largest group of allied plants in the Indian flora. It consists of 1,267
species and 130 genera represented by a total of 33 families, of which about 70
species are endemic to India. In
addition, ferns are indicators of moisture and clean the ecosystem akin to Lichens.
These are good nitrogen-fixing agents like the widely used Leguminosae (Pea/various daals) in crop
rotation. They are also used to filter heavy metals from polluted water and are
a bio-indicator for the health of an ecosystem.
The Ferns therefore have a wide range of benefits for humans and the
ecosystem. Some of them possess
medicinal properties, whereas other are edible and still others have other
uses. One of them is the Lycopodiosida
or commonly called the Club ferns and their spores are used to produce
‘Lycopodium powder’ and those playing Carrom Board would be well aware of its
use during the game i.e. for smooth flow of the Striker & Coins, now a days
instead of the Lycopodium powder, Boric powder is used, as the former is quite
costly.
More named variety of ferns at the fernery
Another named variety of a fern in the Fernery
More fern in the Fernery
The spores of a fern plant on the hind side of the leaf at the Fernery
The
fernery in Ranikhet has round 30 species which have large medicinal
significance. The species embrace Hansraj (Adiantum
venustum) which has been given significance in Ayurveda in addition to
within the Tibetan system of drugs as a treatment for a lot of illnesses.The fernery additionally shows some distinguished
edible species of fern like Lingura
(Diplazium esculentum), a preferred
meals merchandise within the hills of Uttarakhand as well as North East India, which
is extremely nutritious and collected in wild during the monsoon season.It has a mixture of species from the western
and Himalayan areas in addition to from Western Ghats. It homes many uncommon
species, distinguished amongst that are Tree Fern (Cyathea spinulosa) which has been declared as “threatened” by the
State Biodiversity Board of Uttarakhand.Only some crops of this species are left within the wild and is taken
into account one of the crucial historic species of fern. It’s stated that herbivore dinosaur used to
feed on its trunk which is wealthy in starch.Moreover, the fernery additionally shows many epiphyte, aquatic ferns
and fashionable and attention-grabbing ferns like Vishkanya, Mayurshikha,
Boston Fern, Woman Fern, Rock Fern, Basket Fern, Ladder Fern, Golden Fern and
Horsetail Fern. Further boasting of
varied fern species, it additionally shows attention-grabbing info about ferns
like reference of invisible seeds of ferns in Shakesphere’s play Henry IV and
the craze of ferns generally known as ‘Pteredomania’ during the Victorian
period.
A panoramic view of the Ranikhet Fernery
Some ferns that grow on tree trunks
Another variety of fern that grows on decaying tree trunks
Lingura (Diplazium esculentum) a local delicacy and edible fern
It is also a must visit destination for nature lovers and
for me it was a great journey as it rekindled memories of my student days, as I
have a Honors Degree in Botany and having studied the Ferns as one of subjects,
I was teleported to a bygone era.I have
therefore crafted this blog in a detailed manner to convey the importance of
Ferns even in today’s world.
Here is a link to a short video of the destination -
