Context: India’s largest open-air fernery was inaugurated at Ranikhet in Uttarakhand's Almora district.

• The fernery is home to many fern species, some of which are endemic to the state, some hold medicinal value while some are threatened species.

About The Ranikhet fernery

• The fernery has the largest collection of fern species, second to Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram.
• It spreads over four acres of land at an altitude of 1,800 metres.
• It provides an apt location for developing an open-air fernery.
• It has been developed by the Research Wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department. Central Government’s CAMPA scheme.

Biodiversity

• It has 120 different types of ferns.
• The fernery has a mix of species from the western Himalayan region, the eastern Himalayan region, and the Western Ghats.
• It houses several rare species, including Tree Fern, a threatened species by the State Biodiversity Board of Uttarakhand.
• It houses around 30 species of medicinal ferns such as Hansraj, which has huge importance in Ayurveda as a remedy for ailments.

What Are Ferns?

• Ferns are non-flowering pteridophytes. They generally reproduce by producing spores.
• Ferns are the first plant with a fully developed vascular system.
• About 9% of the world’s Pteridophytes occur in India.
• Ferns are the second largest group of plants in Indian flora, are represented by 33 families 130 genera and 1,267 species.
• 70 species among these are endemic to India.

The structure of a fern

Ferns have 3 major parts – the rhizome, the fronds and the reproductive structures called sporangia.
1. Rhizome: The rhizome is the stem of the fern plant. It comes in 3 basic forms:

• An erect rhizome: It is a solid mass that gives rise to a tuft of fronds. It can be found on a king fern or a crown fern.
• A laterally growing rhizome: creeps along the ground. It may even climb up a tree. Hound’s tongue and thread ferns are examples of a fern with a creeping rhizome.
• A vertical rhizome: This can grow into a short or a tall trunk. The trunk of the ponga (silver fern) is a vertical rhizome.

2. Fonds

• The fronds are the leaves of the fern. There is usually a stalk with a flat blade often divided into segments.
• Fronds have a dual function. They are present for photosynthesis and for reproduction.

Ferns are unique

• Ferns are unique amongst land plants in that they have 2 separate living structures in their reproductive cycle – the sporophyte and the gametophyte.

Importance of Ferns

• They are used for medicinal and edible purposes.
• The indicators of moisture, ferns, clean the ecosystem and are good nitrogen fixating agents.
• They are used to filter heavy metals from polluted waters and are a bioindicator for the health of an ecosystem.
• Ferns provide microhabitats, as well as shelter and shade to small animals, are a source of food or medicine for animals, including people.