India gets its first cryptogamic garden in Dehradun

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On 11th July 2021, India’s first cryptogamic garden was inaugurated in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

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The garden located in the Chakrata town of Dehradun is habitation of nearly 50 species of lichens, ferns and fungi. The garden is developed at a height of 9000ft at Deoban in Chakrata.

It’s a three acre area that has low pollution level and moist conditions that are suitable for the species to grow. The area has forest of Deodar and Oak that creates natural habitat for cryptogamic species.

The word ‘Cryptogams (Cryptogamae)’ means hidden reproduction. It is made up of two Greek words “KRYPTOS” which means concealed and “GAMOS” which means marriage. Cryptogams are flowerless and seedless plants. These plants bear no flowers and fruits. Cryptogams include all non-seed bearing plants.

A.W. Eichler, in 1883, classified the whole plant kingdom into two sub-kingdoms such as cryptogams and phanerogams.

Important characteristics of cryptogams:

• These are lower plants.
• These bear no flowers, seeds, and fruits.
• These reproduce vegetatively, asexually and sexually.
• Vegetative reproduction takes place cell division or fragmentation.
• Asexual reproduction takes place by means of spores.
• Sexual reproduction takes place by fusion of male and female gametes.

Moist conditions are essential for Algae, bryophytes (moss, liverworts), lichens, ferns and fungi, some of the notable groups of cryptogams.

Algae constitute the most primitive organisms which are basically aquatic, both in marine as well as freshwater habitats.

Bryophytes are the simplest and earliest land plants that are between algae and pteridophytes. Lichens are a complex life form that is created by symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and algae.

Ferns are the largest living group of ancient vascular plants while fungi are a kingdom of usually multicellular eukaryotic organisms that are heterotrophs.