CRYPTOGAMIC HERBARIUM PANTNAGAR

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. 

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 

• Natural History Museum, London 

• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K. 

• Cryptogamy collection at the herbarium Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France 

• The William C. Steere Bryophyte Herbarium 

Some major herbaria of India that include Cryptogam specimens are listed below:

 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