6

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The foregoing account of the classification and phylogenetic

relationships of pteridophytes (Fern and Fern allies) shows that there are

more points of disagreement rather than agreement. Smith (1995) while

discussing the non molecular phylogenetic hypotheses on ferns opined that

there is consensus among fern systematists that the eusporangiate ferns

(Ophioglossaceae and Marattiaceae) constitute an ancient and separate

lineage, the former perhaps allied to progymnosperms (Wagner, 1964; Kato,

1987, 1988). Osmundaceae, Schizaeaceae sensu lato, Gleicheniaceae,

Matoniaceae, Cyatheaceae and several other monotypic families represent

primitive leptosporagiate ferns as presumed primarily from the fossil

evidences. The dryopteroid and pteridoid-chelanthoid ferns represent the

advanced groups, while Ophioglossales is represented by three distinct

genera, considered under three separate families by some workers. No one

has questioned the integrity of this monophyletic group remotely allied to

Filicales. Marattiaceae has been traditionally associated with

Ophioglossales for its eusporangiate characters. Represented by seven

extant genera with lot of fossil evidences, this group has been classified

under four families by Nayar (1970) and Pichi-Sermolli (1977). The cladistic

analysis by Hill and Camus (1986) shows that Christensenia and Danaea

are monophylitic and Angiopteris and Marattia are paraphylitic.

7

The Osmundales, is often considered as intermediate between

eusporangiate and leptosporangiate ferns. Only Plagiogyriaceae is

attributed as allied to Osmundales. Schizaeales is generally considered as

the ancestral stock for many other families like Pteridaceae, Adiantaceae,

Parkeriaceae, Cyatheaceae, Marsileaceae etc. However, the character

difference between the four members in Schizaeales is so great, in

morphology and cytology, so as to consider them under three separate

families, viz., Anemiaceae, Schizaeaceae and Lygodiaceae as done by

many authors (Kramer, 1990). Glecheniaceae is another family which is

considered as primitive and ancestral to many modern families such as

Cheiropluriaceae, Dipteridiaceae, Polypodiaceae, etc. The tree ferns are

usually considered under a single family Cyatheaceae by many authors

except Holttum (1973) who suggested a polyphyletic derivation with four

families. Two more families, Culcitaceae and Thyrsopteridaceae have been

segregated from Dicksoniaceae by Pichi-Sermolli (1977). The phylogenetic

relationships of the filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae) are still inconspicuous

(Kramer, 1990), though generally they are believed to be originated from the

Schizaealean stock. Some families such as Matoniaceae, Dipteridaceae,

Cheiropluriaceae are considered as isolated primitive families (Smith, 1995).

Several monographs and publications have dealt with the selected

genera of these primitive ferns from different parts of the world. The earliest

among them is the Fern World (Heath, 1908). Copeland (1947) dealt with

162 genera of ferns in his Genera Filicum.

8

A monographic study of fern genus Anemia by Mickel (1962). The

genus Ceratopteris was revised by Lloyd (1974) while Kato & Sahashi

(1977) studied the systematic position of Botrychium lanuginosum.

A number of floristic and regional treatments of ferns including the

primitive ferns were published from various parts of the World. Some such

important treatments are: Ferns of Fiji (Copeland, 1929), The Pteridophytes

of the Admiralty Islands (Wagner, Jr. & Grether, 1948), A Revised Flora of

Malaya-Vol.II-Ferns (Holttum, 1954), The Ferns of Peru (Tryon, 1964), Flora

Zambesiaca Pteridophyta (Schelpe, 1970), The Pteridophytes of Suriname

(Kramer, 1978), Pteridiological Flora of Meditaranian region (Pichi. Sermolli,

1979), Ferns of Britain and Ireland (Page, 1982). Ferns and Allied plants

with special reference to Tropical America (Tryon & Tryon, 1982). Flora of

Southern Africa: Pteridophyta (Schelpe & Anthony, 1986) and various

aspects of the fern flora of Netherlands studied by Bremer (2003).

Alston (1959) recorded five species of Ophioglossum, two species of

Botrychium, two species of Marattia, two species of Anemia, two species of

Lygodium, Osmunda regalis, Dicranopteris linearis and three species of

Cyathea from West Tropical Africa. Banerji (1961) recorded Ophioglossum

and Botrychium from Nepal. Occurrence of Botrychium from Japan is

reported by Nishida (1959). Zou & Wagner Jr. (1988) made a preliminary

review of Botrychium in China. Survey of Pteridophytes of Somali plateau in

South Ethiopia is done by Pichi-Sermolli (1964) and reported Osmunda

regalis L. var. abyssinica. Other important works on these ferns are by

9

Ching (1949), Pichi-Sermolli (1957, 1970, 1972, 1979), Sledge (1981, 1982)

and Parris and Lattiff (1997).

Studies on Ophioglossum reticulatum, Helminthostachys zeylanica,

Ceratopoteris thalictroides and Dicranopteris linearis of East Nepal were

done by Siwakoti & Sharma (1998). Nakaike and Gurung (1988) provided a

distributional map of the pteridophytes in Kathmandu.

Five species of Lygodium has been reported from Bangladesh by

Uddin et al. (1997) include Lygodium flexuosum and L. microphyllum.

Holttum (1965) while working on Asian species of tree ferns

recognized 11 species of Cyathea from the Indian region of which Cyathea

nilgirensis was described as a new species. A comprehensive account of

the tree fern Cyathea from Australia, Pacific Islands, Java and Borneo is

given by Holttum (1964, 1965a, 1974). Tryon (1976) revised the genus

Cyathea, and recognized 40 species.

The major works on the fern flora of India were carried out by

Beddome (1865-70, 1883, 1892), who presented a comprehensive summary

of the known ferns from all parts of British India, Ceylon and Malay

Peninsula. Hope (1901, 1903) made a study about the ferns of North and

North Western India, while Panigrahi (1960) recorded the ferns of Eastern

India. Clarke (1880), a contemporary of Beddome also collected ferns from

different parts of North India including Assam. A list of taxa of Indian ferns

10

not included in Beddome's 'Handbook to the ferns of British India' is provided

by Nair & Dixit (1981).

Several investigations have been done on individual ferns of this

group by several workers. The systematic studies in the family

Ophioglossaceae mainly on the genus Ophioglossum (d'Almeida, 1922;

Blatter & d'Almeida, 1922; Chakravarty, 1951; Balakrishnan et al., 1960;

Mital, 1968, 1969). Mahabale (1962) reported 10 species of Ophioglossum

while Panigrahi & Dixit (1969) reported 14 taxa (10 species and 4 varieties)

of Ophioglossum from India. Ophioglossum gramineum and Lygodium

microphyllum are reported from Madhya Pradesh (Panigrahi & Dixit, 1966).

Bir & Verma (1963) gave a taxonomic account of Botrychium lanuginosum

from Mount Abu. Sharma et al. (1968) made experimental and analytical

study of Helminthostachys zeylanica.

Much works on the understanding of ferns from the Himalayan region,

were done mainly by Bir, Pande & Pande, Khullar, etc. Pande & Pande

(2003) provided excellent description of fern flora of Kumanon Himalaya and

reported 341 species of pteridophytes including two new records:

Helminthostachys zeylania and Ophioglossum costatum. Khullar (1995)

enumerated 265 species of ferns from Himachal Pradesh, includes

Ophioglossum, Botrychium, Osmunda, Lygodium, Ceratopteris. Kholia &

Punetha (1995) have described the distribution of some pteridophytes in

Western Himalaya. During the floristic study of pteridophytes of West

Himalayas, Khullar (1994, 2000) recorded Ophioglossum, Botrychium

11

Angiopteris, Osmunda, Lygodium, Ceratopteris, Dicranopteris, Cyathea,

etc. Enumeration of 85 species of pteridophytes of Berinag hills

(Western Himalaya) includes Botrychium lanuginosum, Lygodium flexuosum

and Ceratopteris thalictroides (Pande & Basera, 1988). Verma and

Maniselvan (2001) made a check list of 25 fern species of Kalka and Kasauli

hills (N.W. Himalaya) with taxonomic notes. Recently, a comprehensive

account is provided by Samant et al. (2005) on the diversity and distribution

of pteridophytes of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, West Himalaya.

The remarkable contribution of Prof. S.S. Bir has greatly influenced in

the development of Indin pteridology. He critically comments on all aspects

of pteridophytes of India. Bir (1964) and Bir et al. (1986, 1989) provided a

detailed study of the pteridophytes of Central and North Eastern India.

Vasudeva & Bir (1994) and Vasudeva (1995) have made an extensive study

on the pteridophytes of Central India.

A comprehensive account of the pteridophytes of Orissa is given by

(Panigrahi, 1998). The various aspects of the genus Ophioglossum in

Rajasthan was critically examined by (Singh & Brar, 1980; Sharma & Singh,

1984). Studies on the pteridophytic flora of Amarkantak hills of Madhya

Pradesh recorded the occurrence of Ophioglossum reticulatum (Khare,

1989). Singh et al. (2005b) identified Lydodium flexuosum from Sanjay

National Park, Madhya Pradesh. The exhaustive collections made by Khare

et al. (2005) from Sonebhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, recorded 24 species

12

of pteridophytes, including five species of Ophioglossum, Lygodium

flexuosum and Ceratopteris thalictroides.

Recent informations about the distribution and taxonomy of

pteridophytes of Anup Pur district of Madhya Pradesh is given by Saini

(2005) and Singh et al. (2005a). Pravesh & Singh (2001); Srivasthava et al.

(2002) and Kumari & Srivastava (2003) contributed valuable informations on

understanding of the primitive ferns of Bihar. Das & Sen (1991) enumerated

64 species of ferns of Tripura, which includes Ophioglossum,

Helmithostachys, Lygodium, Angioperis, Ceratopteris, Dicranopteris and

Cyathea. Borthakur et al. (2000) observed that 91 species (41.17%) of ferns

of Assam common with Western Ghats. Much contribution to the study of

pteridophytes of Assam has been given by Bhattacharya et al. (1995) and

Nath & Bhattacharya (2002). Rawat et al. (2005) recorded 207 species of

pteridophytes which include, primitive ferns from Maheo Wild Life Sanctuary,

Arunachal Pradesh. Recently, Devi & Singh (2007) have made a study of

hydrophilous pteridophytes of Thoubal district, Manipur, recorded

Ceratopteris thalictroides.

Various floristic treatments and regional accounts of ferns appeared in

the recent past, also include the account of Indian ferns. A few of them are:

Pteridophytic Flora of Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas (Mehra & Bir, 1964),

Ferns of Nagaland (Jamir & Rao, 1988), Fern Flora of Meghalaya (Baishya &

Rao, 1982), An illustrated Fern Flora of the West Himalaya Vol. I & II

(Khullar, 1994, 2000), Pteridophytic Flora of Pachmarhi, Tamia and Patalkot

13

(Vasudeva & Bir, 1994), Illustrated Manual of Ferns of Assam (Borthakur et

al., 2000), An Illustrated Fern Flora of the Kumaon Himalaya (Pande &

Pande, 2003).

Regarding the systematic treatment of Cyatheaceae Dixit (1998)

agrees the view of Pichi-Sermolli in recognising only six paleate genera of

Tryon (1970), out of these only two genera, Alsophila and Sphaeropteris

occur in the Indian region. Cyathea spinulosa has been reported from

Darjeeling, Sikkim Himalayas and Western Himalaya (Mehra & Bir, 1964;

Pande & Pande, 1993).

A descriptive account of the 17 species of pteridophytes of Goa,

includes Osmunda regalis, Lygodium flexuosum (Irudayaraj & Bir, 1997).

While studying the pteridophytic flora of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Nayar

and Srivastava (1962) recorded Lygodium flexuosum and Ceratopteris

thalictroides. Recently, Singh & Medhi (2006) reported 64 species of

pteridophytes in South Andaman, which include Lygodium flexuosum,

Lygodium microphyllum, Ceratopteris thalictroides and Angiopteris evecta.

The earliest account of plant wealth of South India was van Rheede's

(1678-1703) classical work Hortus Indicus Malabaricus, in which 15

pteridophytes were illustrated and described (Madhusoodanan & Rejani,

1994). The significance of this book is evident from the fact that, Linnaeus

has referred this work, while naming the Indian plants in his Species

Plantarum (1753). Lygodium microphyllum was illustrated and described by

Rheede from this region. Since then, several authors (Burmann, 1768;

14

Swartz, 1806; Roth, 1821; Zenker, 1835; Graham, 1836; Kunz, 1846-48,

1851) either based south Indian for their new descriptions or referred them in

their work. Other refernces of ferns of South India can also be found in

Hooker's (1837-1854) Icones Plantarum and Species Filicum (1844-1864).

The most significant contribution on the South Indian pteridology is by

Col. R.H. Beddome. Based on his field observations and extensive

collections he published Ferns of Southern India (1863-1865), which

recorded 240 species of pteridophytes from Peninsular India. Following this,

he published Ferns of British India (1865-1870) and Supplement to the ferns

of South India and British India (1876). In 1883, the Hand Book to the ferns

of British India, Ceylon and Malay Peninsula was published and a

supplement was added in 1892. Even today, Beddome's work remains as

the most important and useful reference for the identification of Indian fern

flora. Since then, the concepts of various taxonomic groups of ferns have

considerably been changed. Nayar and Kaur (1974) and Chandra and Kaur

(1987, 1994) have published the nomenclatural equivalents to the ferns

described by Beddome.

After the period of Beddome, many regional and local floras were

published on South Indian ferns including these primitive ferns. The earliest

among them is Ferns of Highwavy Mountain by d'Almeida (1926). The other

studies of this region are Fern Flora of Kodaikanal (Bir & Vasudeva, 1971,

1980) and that of Palni Hills (Manickam and Ninan, 1976; Manickam, 1986).

Manickam and Irudayaraj (1992) undertook an elaborate study on the

15

Pteridophytic Flora of Western Ghats which gives the description and

illustration of 20 species of primitive ferns. Fern Flora of Malabar (Nayar &

Geevarghese, 1993) gave detailed descriptions of 170 fern species of

Malabar. A Census of Indian Pteridophytes (Dixit, 1984) and Dixti & Vohra's

(1984) A dictionary of the Pteridophytes of India are very useful in identifying

the Indian pteridophytes. Recently, Manickam et al (2004) made additions to

the flora of Sirumalai hills.

Several reports have been published on primitive ferns from various

parts of South India. Subramanyam et al. (1960) collected Ophioglossum,

Botrychium, Angiopteris, Osmunda, Dicranopteris and Anemia from

Shevaroy hills. Dwarakan & Ansari (1998) studied the pteridophytes of Kolli

hills. An enumeration of the ferns of Sirumalai hills include, Angiopteris

evecta and Cyathea gigantea (Karuppusamy et al., 2001). Report of

Osmunda regalis for the first time from Andhra Pradesh is given by Sunitha

and Rao (2002). Kumar (1998) enumerated the fern flora of Sylvan valley,

Munnar, Kerala.

Madhusoodanan & Kumar (1986) recorded Schizaea digitata from

South India. A variety of Helminthostachys zeylanica has been reported

from Kerala by Nampy & Madhusoodanan (1994). The epiphytic fern

Ophioglossum pendulum from Periyar Tiger Reserve is a new record for the

mainland of India (Augustine et al., 1994) Madhussoodanan et al. (1991)

have made a study on Cytotaxonomy and phylogeny of hetrosporous ferns.

16

An excellent review has been given by Nair & Bhargavan (1981) on

the ferns of Peninsular India. Some other relevant works of South India are,

Nampy & Madhusoodanan (1992a & b), Kumar & Madhusoodanan (1998),

Kumar & Sequiera (1998a & b, 1999), Kumar et al. (1999), Antoney et al.

(2000), Manickam & Rajkumar (1999) and Manickam & Irudayaraj (2003).

Madhusoodanan & Nampy (1998) described the biodiversity of the

ferns and fern allies of Kerala. Nair & Ghosh (1973) reported the occurrence

of Ophioglossum gramineum in Kerala. An illustrated account of the 250

pteridophytes of Kerala is given by Nair et al. (1988, 1992 a & b, 1994).

Madhusoodanan et al. (1992) commented on the aquatic fern, Ceratopteris

thalictroids of Kerala. Khan et al. (1995) recorded Schizaea digitata of

Shendurney forests of Kollom district.

The pteridological studies done in South India during past 50 years

has been reviewed by Madhusoodanan et al. (2001). Rajagopal & Bhat

(1998) annotated the list of 174 pteridophytes of Karnataka including three

species of Ophioglossum, two species of Botrychium, Angiopteris,

Osmunda, Schizaea, two species of Lygodium, Ceratopteris, Dicranopteris

and three species of Cyathea. Pulliah et al. (2003) made an elaborate study

of the pteridophytes of Andhra Pradesh. He described three species of

Ophioglossum, Botrychium, Osmunda, Lygodium, Dicranopteris and three

species of Cyathea.

Compared to other aspects, there is less information on the ecology

of Indian pteridophytes. Holttum (1938) gave the first comprehensive

17

treatment of the ecology of tropical pteridophytes. Page (1979a & b)

provided an illustrated account of the ecology of pteridophytes. Other

important references pertaining to ecology of pteridophytes are Young &

Leon (1991), Tuomisto & Roukolainen (1994), Tuomisto & Paulson (1996),

Parris (1996), Paul et al. (1996), Leon & Young (1996). Arens (1998)

commented the ecology of Cyathea. Russel et al. (1998, 1999) have made

observations on the ecology of Dicranopteris linearis in Hawaii. Gurung

(1985, 1997), Sinha & Gurung (1985) conducted an elaborate study on the

ecological aspects of Nepal pteridophytes. Recently Zhang (2003)

discussed the ecology and distribution of the pteridophytes of Hainan Island,

South China

The Indian sub continent constitutes a highly diversified region of the

world as far as climate and physiography are concerned. In India, Mehra

(1939) gave first illustrated account of the various fern species from

Mussoorie growing under different habitats. Stewart (1945) and Schelpe

(1954) dealt with the pteridophyte ecology in detail from Kashmir and Kangra

Himalayas respectively. Major treatment of pteridophytes growing under

different ecological adaptations in Darjelling and Sikkim Himalayas is given

by Mehra & Bir (1964).

Ecological as well as phytogeographical information on the

pteridophyte flora of Himalayan region are given by Loyal and Verma (1960);

Bir (1963); Panigrahi & Patnaik (1968), Mehra & Dhir (1968); Dhir & Sheera

(1975), Dhir & Sood (1981); Kachroo (1953, 1975); Punetha & Kholia (1989);

18

Pande et al. (1991). Pangtey & Rawat (1987); Awasthi & Sharma (1980);

Awasthi & Pande (1984); Bir et al. (1983) and Dhir and Saiki (1984). The

ecology and anatomy of tree ferns of Himalaya was given by Sharma (1999).

Bir & Vasudeva (1972), Vasudeva (1995) and Sinha et al. (2007) made

excellent studies on the ecology, distribution and phytogeographical analysis

of pteridophytes of Pachmarhi hills, Central India. The diversity and ecology

of the pteridophytes of Sonebhadra district, Uttar Pradesh is given by Khare

et al. (2005). The other areas to which ecological observations of

pteridophytes made are Rajasthan (Kaur & Yadav, 1985), Madhya Pradesh

(Vasudeva & Bir, 1987; Dixit, 1989), West Bengal (Chattopadhyay, 1998)

Dutta & Sen (1992) critically studied the growth and development of some

ferns under different environmental conditions. The ecology, distribution and

phytogeography of 596 North eastern pteridophytes were studied by Bir et

al. (1991). Dixit (2000) provided an elaborate study on the ecology and

diversity of pteridophytes of different phytogeographical regions of India.

The pioneering work on the ecological studies of South Indian

pteridophytes is by Manickam & Ninan (1984) on the ferns of Palni Hills.

Karuppusamy et al. (2001) described the ecological aspects of ferns of

Sirumalai hills. Bir & Vasudeva (1971) commented on the ecology of the

ferns of Kodaikanal. The various aspects of pollution of ferns were studied

by Gupta (1991).

The ecological observations on the pteridophytes of Waynad district is

given by Leena & Madhusoodanan (1998). Madhusoodanan et al. (1992,

19

1993) described the ecology and diversity of the aquatic pteridophytes of

Kerala. Madhusoodanan & Nampy (1998) provided broad ecological

classification on the pteridophytes of Kerala. Distribution and ecology of

epiphytic pteridophytes of Kerala and Silent Valley National Park are given

by Kumar & Sequiera (1998a & 1999). Rajesh (2001) provided a detailed

study on the ecology of the pteridophytes of Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala.

In India, considerable percentage of pteridophytes are reported to be

endemic (Chandra 1982; Chandra & Kaur, 1984; Bir, 1987; Dixit and Bal

Krishna, 1989, 1990, Kaur and Chandra, 1994; Dixit, 1984, 2000, Nayar

1996). Out of 480 fern species in the Himalayas about 12% are endemic in

this region (Dhir & Saiki, 1984). An updated census of endemic

pteridophytes of India is made by Chandra (1998). Recently, Dixit and Sing

(2004) enumerated, the rare, endangered and endemic pteridophytes of

Central India.

Most of the South Indian representatives of pteridophytes are found

in the Western Ghats. Many of the pteridophytes including the primitive

ferns are rare endangered and many are at the verge of extinction in South

India. The pteridophytes including Ophioglossum, Helminthostachys,

Marattia, Osmunda, Schizaea, Cyathea are rare and endangered in South

India (Madhusoodanan, 1991; Manickam, 1995; Irudayaraj & Manickam,

1995; Khan et al. 1995; Kumar et al., 1998; Dixit, 2000).

Regarding the conservation of endangered species, both in situ and

ex situ preservations are important (Madhusoodanan, 1991). The endemic

20

plants deserve to be paid attention for their conservation especially because

many of them are reported from a single locality (Chandra and Kaur, 1984;

Bir, 1987). Gadgil & Meher-Homji (1986) have identified a series of localities

in different forest regions for in situ conservation of the country. A

recommendation on the useful action plan for the maintenance and

conservation of the present day pteridophytic flora has been suggested by

Pande & Bir (1994). Bir (1987) has comment on the conservation of

epiphytic ferns, while Dixit (1986) explained the tree fern conservation. Kaur

(1989) proposed conservation strategies due to the economic exploitation of

pteridophytes. Dixit & Balakrishna (1990, 1993) provided phytogeographical

analysis of endemic pteridophytes and proposed the conservation priorities.

Goel & Pande (2001) stressed the need for the conservation of tree ferns of

India. The diversity aspects and conservation strategies of pteridophytes in

Chattisgarh has been discussed by Dixit & and Singh (2005).

A remarkable service towards the conservation of South Indian

pteridophytes has been initiated by Theurkauf (1993) by raising an excellent

conservatory at Alathil in Wayanad district of Kerala. Several in situ and ex

situ conservation strategies for south Indian ferns have been proposed by

Irudayaraj & Manickam (1995) and Madhusoodanan & Nampy (1998).

Traditional ex situ conservation has been centered on horticultural

exhibits and collections (Pattinson, 1992, Page et al., 1992), but spore banks

and in vitro collections greatly increase the breadth of genetic diversity

21

maintained ex situ, while cryobanks can increase their potential longivity

many fold (Pence, 2002).

Following the pioneering publication of Manton's (1950) Problems of

Cytology and Evolution in the Pteridophyta, a good number of works

initiated on cytological studies in ferns from the tropics as well as from the

temperate latitudes. Modern fern cytology was initiated by the publication of

Manton and Sledge's Study on the Pteridophytic Flora of Ceylon (1954) and

has been followed by Walker (1973).

Prior to 1950, there had not been much work on pteridophyte cytology

in India. Mehra (1961) gave the first comprehensive treatise on the cytology

of Indian pteridophytes. The other areas to which chromosomal studies

extended were Simla (Bir, 1962), Kathmandu (Roy et al. (1971) Panchmarhi

hills (Vasudeva & Bir, 1982), Western India (Mahabale & Kamble, 1981) and

North Western Himalayas (Khullar & Mehra, 1972, Mehra & Khullar, 1974).

Chromosome analysis of ferns including this primitive group on South

India has been done by Abraham & Ninan (1954), Ninan (1956a, 1956c), Bir

(1965), Ghatak (1977), Kuriachan (1965, 1967, 1978, 1981), Manickam

(1984), Irudayaraj and Manickam (1987), Manickam & Irudayaraj (1988)

Ammal and Bhavanandan (1992a, 1992b).

Cytological investigations of 100 species of South Indian

pteridophytes have been done by Abraham et al. (1962). The highest

chromosome number 2n = 1260 has been recorded by Abraham & Ninan

22

(1954) in Ophioglossum reticulatum of South India. Contributions given by

Irudayaraj et al. (1993), Irudayaraj & Bir (1994), Bir et al. (1996) to the

cytology of Nilgiri ferns are remarkable.

The basic chromosome number x = 69 is reported in Cyathea

nilgirensis and Cyathea gigantea (Ammal & Bhavanandan, 1992b;

Kuriachan, 1981). Madhusoodanan et al. (1991) discussed the

cytotaxonomy and phylogeny of heterosporous ferns.

Table 1

Chromosome Number of Primitive Ferns on Various Geographical Area

Name of Species Geographical

area

Chromosome Number Reference

n 2n

Ophioglossum gramineum

Jamaica

South India

480

Ca 120

Walker (1966)

Ninan (1956b)

O. nudicaule 11 120

240

360

240

Ninan (1958)

Ninan (1956b)

Ghatak (1977)

Manickam (1984)

O. reticulatum South India 435,436

450,451

480,564

566,570

572

630

1260

Abraham & Ninan (1954)

O. vulgatam South India 570

C. 243

--

--

Ninan (1956b)

Manickam (1984)

O. petiolatum " C.470 -- "

Botrychium daucifolium

South India 90 Manickam (1984)

23

Name of Species Geographical

area

Chromosome Number Reference

n 2n

Botrychiam lanuginosum

" 90

--

180

180

Manickam (1984)

Ninan (1956b)

Abraham et al.

(1962)

Helminothostachys

zeylanica

" 94 188 Ninan (1956b)

Angiopteris evecta South India

"

"

80

80

40

160

160

Ninan (1956a)

Ghatak (1963)

Vasudeva & Bir (1977)

Bir & Vasudeva (1979)

"

"

"

Central India

Eastern Himalaya

Ceylon

40

40

80

--

--

--

Vasudeva & Bir (1982)

Mehra & Singh (1955)

Manton& Sledge (1954)

Marattia fraxinea South India 78

78

--

256

Manickam & Irudayaraj (1988)

Ninan (1956 a)

Osmunda regalis South India 22

22

22

44 Ninan (1956c)

Bir (1965)

Ghatak (1977)

Central India 22

22

--

--

Vasudeva & Bir (1982)

Roy & Singh (1973)

Osmunda regalis Western Himalaya

-- 44 Bir (1962)

Western India 22 Mahabale & Kamble (1981)

Britain

Mixican

Congo

22

22

22

44

--

--

Manton (1954)

Smith & Mickel (1977)

Dujardin & Tilquin (1971)

24

Name of Species Geographical

area

Chromosome Number Reference

n 2n

Lygodium flexuosum

South India 30

60

Abraham et al. 1962

"

Western India

Western Himalaya

Central India

60

56

58

Mahabale & Kamble (1981)

Khullar & Kaur (1975)

Vasudeva & Bir (1982)

Lygodium microphyllum

South India

"

Japan

Ceylon

30

30

ca 30

30

Abraham et al. 1962

Irudayaraj & Manickam (1987)

Mitui (1975)

Manton & Sledge (1954)

Schizaea digitata

"

South India 350 - 370

-- Abraham et al. 1962

Ceratopteris thalictroides

South India 77 Kuriachan (1978), Irudayaraj & Manickam (1987)

80

76

Kuriachan (1967)

" Rajasthan 40

38

80 Fabbri (1965)

Pareek et al. (2005)

Dicranopteris linearis

South India 78

78

Abraham et al. (1962)

Bir & Vasudeva (1979)

Ghatak (1977)

Cyathea gigantea South India 69 Kuriachan (1981)

Cyathea nilgirensis " 69 Ammal & Bhavanandan (1992b)

The usefulness of morphological studies of spore types as valuable

character for phylogeny and taxonomic study of various groups. A

25

comparative study of the spores of living pteridophyta has perhaps been first

attempted by Knox (1938). An extensive study of spores of Hawaiian and

New Zealand pteridophytes is done by Selling (1946) and Harris (1955).

Excellent illustrations of spores of over 100 genera of pteridophytes (based

on acetolysed preparation) have been published by Erdtman (1957).

The significance of palynological studies in pteridophyte taxonomy

has been established by many workers (Brown, 1960; Verma, 1966-67,

Wagner, 1974). Nayar (1964) made an elaborate study of the palynology of

modern pteridophytes.

A number of investigators have studied the spore morphology of

Indian ferns (Nayar & Devi, 1964; 1968; Devi and Nayar, 1971; Devi, 1977

Nayar, 1978; Bir & Trikha, 1980). The studies of Mehra (1974), Wagner

(1974), Devi (1974) revealed that the trilete form of spore is considered as

primitive. Observations of the spores of Parkeriaceae and Schizaeaceae

have been done by Ghosh et al. (1964).

An excellent study of the spores of Ophioglossaceae, Marattiaceae

Osmundaceae and Schizaeaceae of India is done by Devi & Nayar (1969).

Sahashi (1979) described on the spores of Ceratopteris thalictroides.

Spore morphology of four south Indian species of Cyathea has been

provided with the help of LM and SEM (Prathapachandran et al., 1996).

Bhavanandan & Ammal (1993) observed the spore characters of Botrychium

daucifolium and Cyatha nilgirensis.

26

Pteridophytes have been a much neglected group as far as their

economic values are concerned. Many species of ferns and fern allies are of

immense economic utility. The most important are their food, medicinal and

aesthetic values (Vasudeva, 1999). Among the petridophytes occurring in

India, 173 species have been used as food, flavour, dye & medicine (Singh,

2003).

Various parts of the Pteridophytes are used as food. Ophioglossum

reticulatum, Botrychium lanuginosum are used as vegetables (Dixit & Vohra,

1984; Kholia & Punetha, 2005). Helminthostachys zeylanica is cooked as

vegetable by tribes (Manandhar, 1996; Vasudeva, 1999). Angiopetris

evecta is eaten for starch (Singh & Viswanathan, 1996).

Medicinal value of petridophytes is known to man for more than 2000

years. Theophrastus (ca. 327-287 BC) and Discordies (ca. 50 AD) has

referred to medicinal attributes of certain ferns. Caius (1935) is supposed to

be the first man who has described medicinal uses of some ferns of India,

besides, Nayar (1957), has reported medicinal uses of 27 pteridophytes.

Some other important studies of medicinal properties of pteridophytes are

Chopra (1933), Chopra et al. (1956), Nadkarni (1954), Chowdhury (1973),

Vyas & Sharma (1988), Padala (1988), Singh (1999) and Singh et al. (2001).

Joshi (1997), Dhiman (1998) and Karuppusamy (2001) contributed to the

ethnobotanical and medicinal use of pteridophytes. May (1978) discussed

the medicinal aspects of ferns and fern allies.

27

Pteridophytes are used in Homoeopathic, Ayurvedic, Unani and Tribal

medicine (Das, 2003). Medicinal aspects of Ohioglossum is studied by Dixit,

(1959), Singh et al. (1989) and Singh (1999). The highly medicinal fern

Helminthostachys zeylanica is used against various types of diseases

(Kholia & Punetha, 2005; Das, 2003, Singh et al., 1989). Dan & Khan

(1991) have commented that the tribals of Malappuram district, Kerala are

using rhizome of this plant against the snake bite. Contributions of the

medicinal properties of Lygodium flexuosum has been given by many

authors (Dixit, 1959; Dixit and Vhora, 1984; Singh et al., 1989; Rajendran &

Henry, 1994; Kaushik & Dhiman, 1995; Sahoo & Mudgal, 1995; Manandhar,

1996; Kumar et al., 1999; Ramesh et al., 2003). Lygodium flexuosum has a

protective effect on experimentally induced hepatic fibrosis in rats (Wills &

Asha, 2005). Trivedi (2002) reported that Angiopteris evecta is being used

against scabis. Marattia fraxinea is used as medicine in South Africa (May,

1978). Osmunda regalis has been used against colic, spleen diseases and

rheumatism (Kaushik & Dhiman, 1995). Medicinal properties of Dicranopteris

linearis is studied by Kaushik & Dhiman (1995), Asolkar et al. (1992) and

Trivedi (2002).

In Kerala medicinal values of pteridophytes are reported (Sivarajan &

Balachandran, 1994; Nair, 1985; Warrier et al., 1994; Mathew et al., 1996,

Manilal et al., 2000). Kumar et al. (2003) gave a comprehensive account of

the 66 medicinal pteridophytes of Kerala. The rhizome of Lygodium

28

microphyllum is boiled with mustard oil and is externally used for rhumatism,

sprains, scabies and ulcers.

Table 2

Medicinal Properties of Primitive Ferns

No. Name Medicinal property Reference

1. Ophioglossum nudicaule

Antibacterial, used for treatment of wounds

Singh (1999)

2. O. costatum Antibacterial, used for treatment of wounds

Singh (1999)

3. O. reticulatum 'Green oil of charity' is used in England as a vulnerary and remedy for wounds

Dixit (1959)

4. O. vulgatum The fronds are considered tonic and styptic and are used in wounds and hemorrhages. In North eastern India rhizomes are used to treat boils and leaves to heal wounds.

Ambasta (1986); Jain (1991); Manickam & Irudayaraj (1992)

5. Helminthostachys zeylanica

Rhizome is used in dysentry, malaria and used against snake bite. Rhizomes is also used to revert impotency. Fronds are used as aperient and intoxicant.

Singh et al. (1981); Dixit & Vohra (1984); Dan & Khan (1991); Das (2003); Kholia & Puneetha (2005).

6. Angiopteris evecta The plant is being used against scabies. Base of the stipe is used in the treatment of leprosy and the roots as a cure of ribs pain.

Jain (1991); Trivedi (2002).

7. Marattia fraxinea Used as a remedy for ankylostomiasis in South Africa

May (1978); Dixit & Vohra (1984).

8. Osmunda regalis Fronds of this plant are used in rheumatism, intestinal gripping, rickets, spleen disease.

Dixit (1959); Dixit & Vohra (1984); Kaushik & Dhinman (1995).

29

No. Name Medicinal property Reference

9. Lygodium flexuosum The whole plants are used as expectorant. The whole plant and various parts used in treatment of rheumatism, sprain, skin diseases, jaundice, piles, abdominal pain, cholera, etc.

Dixit (1959), Dixit & Vohra (1984), Singh et al. (1989),

Rajendran & Henry (1994); Sahoo & Mudgal (1995); Kaushik & Dhiman (1995); Ramesh (2003).

L. flexuosum has a protective

effect on experimentally induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.

Wills & Asha (2005).

10. L. microphyllum The plant used medicinally to treat dysentry and skin diseases. Rhizome of this plant is boiled with mustard oil externally used for rheumatism, scabies, ulcers, etc.

Ambasta (1986); Jain (1991).

11. Dicranopteris linearis Extract of fronds have antibacterial properties. This plant have antiasthmatic and anticancer activity.

Dixit & Vohra (1984); Kaushik & Dhiman (1995); Asolkar (1992); Trivedi (2002)

12. Cyathea gigantea Rhizome used against snake bite. Aerial parts of this plant is used as antiinflammatory

Asolkar (1992); Kumar et al. (2003).

13. C. spinulosa Leaves are used medicinally for sores and wounds.

Singh (1999)

14. C. nilgirensis Pith of this plant is used against snake bite.

Singh (1999)

15. C. crinita Rhizome and sporophyll of this species have antibacterial property.

Singh & Viswanathan (1996); Singh (1999).

Apart from the medicinal properties, ferns have great aesthetic value,

for their graceful, delicate beauty and great diversity of foliage. Most of the

ferns are shade loving and they are very good for interior decoration and

30

Green houses (Chandra & Kaur, 1974). Bir (1994) explained that

Angiopteris evecta, the royal fern Osmunda regalis, Lygodium flexuosum,

Cyathea spinulosa are grown in the gardens and houses as potted plants,

for aesthetic purposes. The stems of Osmunda, Cyathea, Angiopteris are

ideal base for growing orchids (Dixit, 2000).