About Cryptogams
Cryptogams comprise a diverse group of flowerless and seedless plants that possess concealed reproductive structures that produce spores rather than seeds (Mauseth, 2017). These plants were kept under the class Cryptogamia by Linnaeus, incorporating Algae, Fungi, Bryophytes, and Pteridophytes (https://ivh.bsi.gov.in/). Cryptogams are broadly classified into three major groups: Thallophytes, Bryophytes and Pteridophytes. Thallophytes comprise lower non-vascular plants, algae, fungi, lichens and bacteria. Bryophytes include three types of plants, liverworts, hornworts and mosses, whereas pteridophytes include ferns and their associates.
Globally, there are 3,86,779 plant species, including 20,719 bryophyte species, 13,986 pteridophyte species (Banki et al., 2025). In India, recent estimates indicate a total of 56,117 plant species including algae, fungi and microbes. Traditional cryptogams (Thallophytes, Bryophytes & Pteridophytes) account for approximately 57.78% (32,429 species), and seed plants (gymnosperm and angiosperm) account for 40.0% (22,451 taxa) of plant diversity in India. This includes 9117 Algae, 15986 Fungi, 3151 Lichens, 2850 Bryophytes and 1325 Pteridophytes (Mao et al., 2025).
Cryptogams have vast ecological and socioeconomic value. Fungi are nature's biggest nutrient mobilizers, along with microbes. Lichens, bryophytes and pteridophytes are essential components of ecosystems, contributing to biodiversity and creating circumstances favorable to the survival of other groups of plants and animals. These plants play a significant role in primary productivity, biogeochemical cycling, soil fertility and stability and plant succession. Cryptogams are directly or indirectly involved in many ecological services. Besides their ecological functions, cryptogams are also highly significant in food production, horticulture, biofertilization, traditional medicine, and different industrial sectors.
Apopellia endiviifolia
Phaeoceros carolinianus
Hyophila involuta
Equisetium diffusum
Selaginella helvetica
Aleuritopteris anceps
About Cryptogamic Herbarium
Herbarium collections are more than just plant specimens; they are records of biodiversity across time. They help not only traditional plant taxonomy, but also modern research areas like climate change, conservation biology, species invasions and genetics.
According to the Index Herbarium, there are approximately 3,864 internationally recognized herbaria worldwide, storing an estimated 402 million specimens total over the last 400 years (Theirs, 2024). Most of the herbaria available online mainly focus on the structural diversity of phanerogams. Very few are available, showcasing the beautiful diversity of cryptogams. Cryptogamic herbaria are specialized botanical collections focusing on non-vascular and lower plants such as algae, fungi, lichens, bryophytes and ferns. This is genuinely felt by the botanical fraternity that the plant diversity of a place is incomplete without taking into account its cryptogamic diversity. Hence, a need was felt to compile all the collections of bryophytes, pteridophytes and lichens in the form of a cryptogamic herbarium. This was started with the intention to help students understand the diversity of lower plants (cryptogams) and also help them in the identification of specimens, particularly bryophytes and pteridophytes. Globally, there are numerous herbaria of several institutes known for their vast cryptogamic collections, like the cryptogamy collection (PC) at the Herbarium Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, France and the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (E), Scotland, U.K. The Farlow Herbarium (FH) at Harvard University, USA, established in 1887, holds over 1.4 million specimens of cryptogams. Likewise, the University of Alberta Museums also have a Cryptogamic Herbarium that holds 222,500 cryptogamic specimens. Some large herbaria present in the world, having substantial representation of cryptogam collections are listed below:
University of Alberta Museums, Cryptogamic Herbarium, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada
Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
Australian National Herbarium, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research
Cryptogamy collection at the herbarium Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
Name of the Regional Centre/Units Acronym Number of Cryptogam Specimens Year of Establishment
Central National Herbarium, BSI, Howrah, WB CAL 85,938 1795
Eastern Regional Centre, BSI, Shillong ASSAM 32,029 1956
Southern Regional Centre, BSI, Coimbatore MH 10, 476 1955
Northern Regional Centre, BSI, Dehradun BSD 9,620 1956
Himalayan Regional Centre, BSI, Gangtok, Sikkim BSHC 5,927 1979
Central Regional Centre, BSI, Allahabad BSA 14,300 1962
Herbarium, Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre, BSI, ARUN 5,648 1977
Itanagar
Arid Zone Regional Centre, BSI, Jodhpur BSJO 60 1972
National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow LWG 170,891 1948
Cryptogamic Herbarium Pantnagar (CHP) is a physical herbarium established in 2022. The herbarium is also developed as an e-herbarium of cryptogamic specimens (presently representing bryophytes, pteridophytes and lichen samples only) available in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Basic Sciences & Humanities, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, 263145, Uttarakhand. The herbarium was made online on Dec. 1, 2025
Bryophyte herbarium specimens are well preserved and neatly placed in the herbarium paper packets measuring 10 ×15 cm. The. Herbarium packet is labelled with a label (9x14 cm) containing all the necessary details of the plant sample, family, date of collection, location, altitude, GPS coordinates, habitat, details of collector, collection number and accession number. The prepared herbarium packet is in good condition, and ready for storage.
In this Cryptogamic Herbarium, at present, bryophytes are represented by 42 families. Among them, liverworts comprise 16 families, including 29 species; hornworts are represented by 2 families, consisting of 2 species; while mosses are the most diverse, encompassing 24 families, with 77 species. Total 108 species of Bryophytes are uploaded in this e herbarium website.
The pteridophyte specimen is carefully dried and pressed to retain its natural form and diagnostic features. The pteridophyte specimen is mounted on a herbarium sheet measuring 11.5 ×16.5 inches. The sheet includes a detailed label with the information such as scientific name, family, locality, collector's name, and date of collection and is suitable for long-term preservation in the herbarium. Herbarium sheets of species belonging to each family are then stored in separate family folders.
At present, 35 species of pteridophytes are uploaded to the Cryptogamic Herbarium site, represented by 11 families.