unidentified fern

[JANAKI TURAGA]

Hi all,

This fern (I think it is!) in the dry state was sold in a market in Gurgaon, with the sales pitch that if soaked in water for sometime it would become green. A green specimen was also put on display which was spectacular!

So it was bought and after overnight soaking in water, it became green like in the picture!

Would appreciate if someone could id this fern and provide any information about this plant.

Thanks

Janaki Turaga

[Vijayadas D]

Dear all,

 

It is Selaginella bryopteris.

 

Pteridophytes are classified into two - Ferns and Fern allies

 

There are two principal differences between ferns and fern allies. First, unlike the ferns, the leaves of fern allies, known technically as microphylls, are small, scale-like structures with a single mid-vein.

           Second, fern allies make their spores at the bases of their leaves or on specialized branches.

Selaginella, Lycopodiales(Lycopodium , Phlegmaria etc..), Equisetum, Isoets, and Psilotum are Fern allies  and all other  are Ferns .

 

Regards,

 

Vijayadas

Riyadh-11462,PBNO-7210
KSA
vijayadas.wetpaint.com

Ferns are funniest plants..............!!!!!

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Vijay ji,

   In my region it is known as Bhataila chara. Bhatalia means wild rabbit and chara means fodder. It is much liked by them. According to the Traditional Healersm wild animals consume it for special purpose other than food. Yesterday I was in forest in search of this herb but due to leopard sitting on our way we failed to reach to the spot. It is also known as Laksman booti. In early discussion Gurucharan ji and Dr.Pankaj Kumar have identied it as Sanjivani Booti.

Pankaj Oudhia

[JANAKI TURAGA]

Dear Vijayadas,

Thankyou!

Need your advise on how to propogate this plant. I was told that this would be fine if kept in a vase, with water changed periodically every week.

But I have found that the sanjeevani plant dries up pretty soon. I have to work towards reviving it-very often which is tiresome!

So can I repot it in soil? Will it survive in soil or water? How do I take care of it?

Looking forward to your response

Kind Regards

Janaki Turaga

[Vijayadas D]

Dear,

 

Normally it is growing as lithophyte in shaded forest.

 

But, try to make fine soil mixed with enough organic  .  collect sporophylls  and put on this and give  green house effect .

 

 other ways , if you have the chance to collect live plants, put on the surfce of  humus organified soil   and  keep the plant as errect with  clips in  full shaded  condition.

 

 Dont think , died plant  will start to grow . This plant has the capacity to  regain the green color even after death  when comes to contact with water.

--
VijayadasD
Horticulturalist / Estates Supervisor Deputy
Electro Saudi Services Ltd
Salwa Garden Village

[JANAKI TURAGA]

Thank you!

[Aparna Watve]

And I thank you too, Vijayadas ji for the information. Pteridophytes
was unfortunately never taught as a "serious" subject to me- and I
missed out on all the interesting features of this group. This
Selaginella bryopteris is a poikilohydric species we were discussing
some days back.
Regards
Aparna

--
Dr. Aparna Watve
Dr. Aparna Watve
Asha Appt, Shanti Nagar, Ekata Colony
Nr. BSNL tower, Akbar Ward,
Seoni.480661
tel: 07692-228115
mobile: (0)9755667710 and 9822597288 still works

[Mahendra Prasad]

I have also come across this dry fern being sold in BBD Bagh (main office area ) in Kolkata. A tribal who was selling it had a basket full containing 50 - 100 plants. He had a sample of the fresh, green fern kept inside a bottle full of water. I also bought one and was told to keep it imersed in water for 24 hrs. The next morning it had turned a living green colour as in Janaki's pix.

I have also seen this fern at a exhibition on Ayurvedic plants by WB Forest Dept. As soon as I can hunt out info from my data file, I will get back.  I seem to remember reading that it is found in tribal forest areas of Chhota-Nagpur , Jharkhand. But not sure.

---

From: JANAKI TURAGA <janaki...@gmail.com>
To: treepix Indian <indian...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sun, 1 November, 2009 10:45:35 AM
Subject: [indiantreepix:21936] unidentified fern

Hi all,

This fern (I think it is!) in the dry state was sold in a market in Gurgaon, with the sales pitch that if soaked in water for sometime it would become green. A green specimen was also put on display which was spectacular!

So it was bought and after overnight soaking in water, it became green like in the picture!

Would appreciate if someone could id this fern and provide any information about this plant.

Thanks

Janaki Turaga

---

Yahoo! India has a new look. Take a sneak peek.

[Mahendra Prasad]

Selaginella sps ?  Spikemoss.  Selaginella, a genus of about 700 sps in family Selaginellaceae. It could be S. bryopteris, Sanjeevani, found  in India.

There are many sps of Selaginella found in arid regions, which are known as " resurrection plants ".  In dry times they contract, curling up into tight, brownish balls, turning green again when moisture is available, as discovered by Janaki.

They appear to be ferns at 1st look, but are from division ( phyllum ) Lycopodiophyta. Ferns are from the division Pteridophyta.

For more details refer to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selaginella.

 

 

 

---

From: JANAKI TURAGA <janaki...@gmail.com>
To: treepix Indian <indian...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sun, 1 November, 2009 10:45:35 AM
Subject: [indiantreepix:21936] unidentified fern

[Mahendra Prasad]

Thanks Vijaydas, for your valuable tips on growing Selaginella. Thanks also to you and Pankaj Oudhia, for info about  "  Fern Allies " and vernacular names.  

---

From: Vijayadas D <vijay...@gmail.com>
To: JANAKI TURAGA <janaki...@gmail.com>
Cc: treepix Indian <indian...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sun, 1 November, 2009 1:46:14 PM
Subject: [indiantreepix:21963] Re: unidentified fern