- Recently, India’s first cryptogamic garden was inaugurated in the Chakrata town of Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
- The garden will be housing nearly 50 species of lichens, ferns and fungi (collectively known as Cryptogamae).
- Plant kingdom can be divided into two sub-kingdoms viz. Cryptogams and phanerogams.
- Cryptogams consist of seedless plants and plant-like organisms whereas phanerogams consist of seed-bearing plants.
- Phanerogams are further divided into two classes i.e. gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Important points:
- This garden is at Deoban in Chakrata at a height of 9,000 ft.
- This site is chosen because of its low pollution levels and moist conditions which are conducive for the growth of these species.
- Further, Deoban has pristine majestic forests of Deodar and Oak which create a natural habitat for cryptogamic species.
Cryptogams:
- A cryptogam is a plant that reproduces with the help of spores.
- The word “Cryptogamae” implies ‘hidden reproduction’, referring to the fact that they do not produce any reproductive structure, seed, or flower.
- Due to this, they are called “flowerless” or “seedless plants” or ‘lower plants’.
- They need a moist environment to survive.
- These are present in aquatic and terrestrial places.
- Algae, bryophytes, lichens, ferns and fungi are the best-known groups of cryptogams.
- Classification of Cryptogams: Cryptogams are classified into 3 groups based on the various structural and functional criteria of the plant.
- Thallophyta is a division of the plant kingdom including primitive forms of plant life showing a simple plant body. They lack roots, stems, or leaves.
- It includes algae-like Spirogyra, Sargassum, etc.
- They are predominantly aquatic and found both in marine as well as freshwater habitats.
- Bryophytes comprise a limited variety of non-vascular land plants. They prefer moist habitats but they can survive in dry environments too. Example- hornworts, liverworts, mosses, etc.
- They occupy an intermediate position between algae and pteridophytes.
- Since bryophytes can survive in both water and land, they are considered as the ‘amphibians of the plant kingdom’.
- A pteridophyte is a vascular plant that disperses spores. It is the first plant to have xylem and phloem.
- Ferns are the largest living group of primitive vascular plants.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES.MINT