India’s biggest open air fernery inaugurated in Uttarakhand

Uttrakhand Forest Deparment developed an open-air fernery. This is said to be the biggest fernery of India. Ranikhet Fernery inaugurates by Dr. Nilambar Kunetha, a well-known Pteridophyte, an expert on ferns, in Ranikhet, today. It is an effort of three years of Research Wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department under GOI’s CAMPA scheme.

Talking on Fernery and its importance IFS Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Chief Conservator Forest, exhorts, “It has the largest collection of fern species with 120 different types of fern after Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram, has a larger number of fern species than this one. But with the difference that Ranikhet fernery is developed as an open-air fernery in natural surroundings and not under any poly-house/shade house.”

It is developed over an area of 04 acres with Ranikhet providing an ideal location for developing an open-air fernery. The fernery is developed at an altitude of 1800 metres in a shady area with a seasonal pahadi Nala passing through it providing adequate moisture as ferns require shade and moisture to grow and propagate.

Chaturvedi adds further, “This fernery has a mix of species from the western Himalayan region, the eastern Himalayan region as well as the Western Ghats. It houses many rare species, prominent among which is Tree Fern (Cyathea spinulosa), which has been declared as threatened by the State Biodiversity Board of Uttarakhand. Only a few plants of this species have been left in wild and is considered to be one of the most ancient species of fern. It is said that herbivore dinosaurs used to feed on its trunk which is rich in starch.”

Fernery has around 30 species that have tremendous medicinal importance which include Hansraj (Adiantum venustum) which has been given tremendous importance in Ayurveda as well as Tibetan system of medicine and has been described as a remedy to many ailments. The fernery also displays some prominent edible species of fern-like Lingura (Diplazium esculentum ) which is a popular food item in the hills of Uttarakhand and is considered to be very nutritious. Besides this, the fernery also displays many epiphytes, aquatic ferns, and popular and interesting ferns like Vishkanya, Mayurshikha, Boston fern, Lady fern, Rock Fern, Basket Fern, Ladder fern, Golden fern, and Horsetail fern.

Besides displaying various fern species, it also displays interesting facts about ferns like the reference of invisible seeds of ferns in Shakesphere’s play Henry IV and also a craze of ferns known as ‘Pteredomania’ in Victorian era in 19th century. It also highlights various threats to fern species because of deforestation, habitat fragmentation and climatic factors, added Chaturvedi.