India’s First Cryptogamic Garden:
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).
Factors Responsible for Location of this Garden:
- 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.
