Perspectives of Pteridophytes Biodiversity: A Source of Economy Elevation

Ferns and their allies also known as the vascular cryptogamic plants have enormous aesthetic value and multifarious scope for exploring the bioactive molecules against various pathogenic causal organisms of bacterial, fungal and microbial origins. In view of the evolutionary trends of plants the Pteridophytes have valuable importance to unearth the number of uncertain hypothesis of evolution. In addition, more species of the Pteridophytes have been known and validated as potential genetic resource against many diseases and source of miscellaneous articles. However, the Pteridophytes have long history of their evolution and were known as dominant group of the plants during the carboniferous periods. Since, their dominating era few of the species have survived long and known as relic species (Psilotum nudum) playing major role to resolve the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary trends. Whereas the first attempt to enlist the species composition and their economic importance was made a 2300 years back. Theophrastus (327-287 BC) and Dioscorides (50 AD) mentioned and referred the medicinal attributes of certain ferns, however, in context to India it was Shushruta and Charak who described and narrated medicinal uses of Marsilea minuta and Adiantum capillus-veneris in their Samhitas. After a long gap of studies, Caius made first effort in 1935 to describe the medicinal uses of some ferns in India and is considered as the first man to take this very initiative of such kind’s investigation. Thereafter, Nayar in 1957 and Kaushik & Dhiman in 1995 emphasized and apprehended the medicinal and economic utility of many fern species distributed in India. Many other Perspectives of Pteridophytes Biodiversity: A Source of Economy Elevation