Dehradun home to India's first cryptogamic garden, inaugurated by social activist

Dehradun will now house India's first cryptogamic garden that was inaugurated in Deoban area in Uttarakhand on Sunday. The garden is situated at an altitude of 9000 feet and is spread over an area of three acres. The place was inaugurated by social activist Anoop Nautiyal and is home to 50 different species of cryptogram. 

The cryptogamic garden will house the primitive plants also called Cryptograms, which do not propagate through seeds and includes Algae, Mosses, Fern, Fungi and Lichens. In an official statement Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Indian Forest Service (IFS), Chief Conservator of Forests (Research), said ''It is India's first cryptogamic garden, established in view of the ecological importance of these species and to create awareness among the public about these important group of plants." Deoban has pristine majestic forests of Deodar and Oak which create a natural habitat for cryptogamic species, he added. 

More about Cryptograms and India's cryptogamic project 

Cryptograms are lower plants which exist on earth since the Jurassic era. When species like Lichens do not grow in pollution infected areas, these plants become good bio-indicators. These species have tremendous economic value also as many lichens are used as spices in famous culinary items like Hyderabadi Biryani and Galouti Kebab to add flavour.

Many algae species, similarly, are a good source of various nutrients and also many edible mushrooms. Good anti-fungal properties can be found in many species of moss and many lichen species are used as medicines by local people and many fern species are used to filter heavy metals. Algae, bryophytes (moss, liverworts), lichens, ferns and fungi are the best-known groups of cryptogams that require moist conditions to survive, Chaturvedi said. 

Deoban is chosen for this project as it is a good natural habitat of these group of plants, being free from pollution and also providing appropriate moisture conditions for these plants, Chaturvedi further added. He explained about Algae comprising the most primitive organisms which are predominantly aquatic, both in marine as well as freshwater habitats. Talking about ferns, he said that they are the largest living group of primitive vascular plants while fungi is a kingdom of usually multicellular eukaryotic organisms that are heterotrophs. 

(Source- ANI)