The epiphytic pteridophyte flora of Cooch Behar District of West Bengal, India, and its ethnomedicinal value
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8224.15.8.23799-23804Keywords:
Ethnic communities, ferns and fern allies, medicinal plants, traditional knowledge, vertical distributionAbstract
Cooch Behar, located in the northeastern part of West Bengal, has a rich pteridophytic flora. The present field study was undertaken during January 2021 to September 2022 to document the epiphytic pteridophyte flora of the district and record ethnomedicinal uses, which had not been studied previously. Nine epiphytic species of pteridophytes belonging to six genera and three families were recorded, with Polypodiaceae being the dominant family represented by seven species (4 from genus Pyrrosia). Seven epiphyte species were used by ethnic communities and traditional healers to treat 10 different types of diseases, including common cough and cold, and jaundice. This study adds five epiphytic species of pteridophytes to previous records from Cooch Behar District.
References
Bandyopadhyay, S., A. Bose, S. Nandi, T. Chakrabortty, S. Bandyopadhyay & M.S. Mondal (2006). On the occurrence of Psilotum nudum (L.) P. Beauv. (Psilotaceae) in Koch Behar, West Bengal. ENVIS Newsletter 11(1&2): 7. https://bsi.gov.in/uploads/userfiles/file/ENVIS/ENVIS%20NEWSLETTER/ENVIS%20Newsletter%20Vol.%2011%202006.pdf
Beddome, R.H. (1883). Handbook to the Ferns of British India Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula. Thacker, Spink and Co., Calcutta, 500 pp.
Beddome, R.H. (1892). Handbook to the Ferns of British India, Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula with Supplement. Thacker, Spink and Co., Calcutta, 500 pp.
Benniamin, A. (2011). Medicinal ferns of North Eastern India with special reference to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 10(3): 516–522. http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/bitstream/123456789/12015/1/IJTK%2010%283%29%20516-522.pdf
Biswas, K.C. (1956). Pteridophytes of Cooch Behar. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 53(3): 493–493. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48180961
Biswas, R., A.P. Das & T.K. Paul (2013). Floristic diversity of Rasik Beel and its adjoining areas in Coochbehar district of West Bengal, India. Pleione 7(2): 501–507.
Botanical Survey of India (2023). Pteridophytes. https://bsi.gov.in/page/en/pteridophytes Accessed on April 2023.
Caius, J.F. (1935). The Medicinal and poisonous ferns of India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 38(2): 341–361. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/183165#page/459/mode/1up
Corne, F.E. (1924). Ferns–Facts and Fancies About Them – II. American Fern Journal 14(3): 77–82. https://doi.org/10.2307/1544254
Das, G.K. (2020). Forest covers of West Bengal: a district-wise review. Reason– A Technical Journal 19: 26–63.
Devi, Y.S., K.S. Devi & P.K. Singh (2007). Floristic study on epiphytic pteridophytes of Thoubal district, Manipur. Indian Journal of Environment and Ecoplanning 14(3): 513–516.
Dey, M. & J.B. Bhandari (2022). Diversity and ethnomedicinal pteridophytes of Jalpaiguri district West Bengal, India. Indian Fern Journal 39(1): 100–114.
Dhiman, A.K. (1998). Ethnomedicinal uses of some pteridophytic species in India. Indian Fern Journal 15(1–2): 61–64.
Farnsworth, N.R., O. Akerele, A.S. Bingel, D.D. Soejarto & Z. Guo (1985). Medicinal plants in therapy. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 63(6): 965–981. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/265180
Fraser-Jenkins, C.R. (2008). Endemics and Pseudo-Endemics in Relation to the Distribution Patterns of Indian Pteridophytes. Taiwania 53(3): 264–292.
Fraser-Jenkins, C.R., K.N. Gandhi & B.S. Kholia (2018). An Annotated Checklist of Indian Peridophytes, Part – 2 (Woodsiaceae to Dryopteridaceae). Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India, 573 pp.
Fraser-Jenkins, C.R., K.N. Gandhi, B.S. Kholia & A. Benniamin (2017). An Annotated Checklist of Indian Peridophytes, Part – 1 (Lycopodiaceae to Thelypteridaceae). Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India, 562 pp.
Fraser-Jenkins, C.R., K.N. Gandhi, B.S. Kholia & D.R. Kandel (2021). An Annotated Checklist of Indian Pteridophytes, Part – 3 (Lomariopsidaceae to Salviniaceae). Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India, 450 pp.
Ghosh, S.R., B. Ghosh, A. Biswas & R.K. Ghosh (2004). The Pteridophytic Flora of Eastern India: Vol. 1. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, 591 pp.
Giri, P., P. Kumari, P. Sharma & P.L. Uniyal (2021). Ethnomedicinal uses of pteridophytes for treating various human ailments in India, pp. 199–212. In: Singh, L.J. & V. Ranjan (eds.). New Vistas in Indian Flora Vol. II. M/s Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.
Hassler, M. (2004–2023). World Ferns. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World. https://www.worldplants.de/world-ferns/ferns-and-lycophytes-list. Accessed on April 2023.
IPNI (2023). International Plant Names Index. http://www.ipni.org, Accessed on May 2023.
Jain, S.K. & R.R. Rao (1977). A Handbook of Field and Herbarium Methods. Today and Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi.
Joshi, P. (1997). Ethnobotany of pteridophytes of hilly districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Indian Fern Journal 14: 14–18.
Kress, W.J. (1986). The systematic distribution of vascular epiphytes: an update. Selbyana 9(1): 2–22. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41888782
Mandal, A., P. Saha, A. Begum, A. Saha, B. Chakraborty, S. Dutta & K.K. Roy (2020a). Ethnomedicinal plants used by the ethnic people living in fringe villages of Rasikbil of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal, India. Indian Journal of Science and Technology 13(16): 1676–1685. https://doi.org/10.17485/IJST/v13i16.380
Mandal, A., T. Adhikary, D. Chakraborty, P. Roy, J. Saha, A. Barman & P. Saha (2020b). Ethnomedicinal uses of plants by Santal tribe of Alipurduar district, West Bengal, India. Indian Journal of Science and Technology 13(20): 2021–2029. https://doi.org/10.17485/IJST/v13i20.565
May, L.W. (1978). The economic uses and associated folklore of ferns and fern allies. The Botanical Review 44(4): 491–528. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02860848
Nayar, B.K. (1959). Medicinal ferns of India. Bulletin of National Botanic Garden, Lucknow 29: 1–36.
Page, C.N. (1979). The diversity of ferns, an ecological perspective. In: Dyer, A.F. (eds.). The Experimental Biology of Fems. Academic Press, London.
Prain, D. (1903). Bengal Plants. Vol. 2. W & Co. Printer & Publisher, Calcutta.
Rout, S.D., T. Panda & N. Mishra (2009). Ethnomedicinal studies on some pteridophytes of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa, India. International Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences 1(5): 192–197. https://doi.org/10.5897/IJMMS.9000099
Sajem, A.L. (2010). Ethno_medico botany of a few tribal communities in north Cachar hills district of Assam. Ph.D. Thesis. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, 269–271 pp. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/90506/19/19_appendix.pdf.
Sharma, N.K. (2002). Ethnomedicinal studies of ferns and fern allies of Hadoti plateau, South Eastern Rajasthan. Zoos’ Print Journal 17(3): 732–734. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.17.3.732-4
Singh, V.P. (1973). Some medicinal ferns of Sikkim Himalayas. Journal of Research in Indian Medicine 8: 71–73.
Srivastava, K. (2007). Importance of ferns in human medicine. Ethnobotanical Leaflets 11: 231–234.
WHO (2003). Diet, nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases. Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation. World Health Organisation, Geneva, 149 pp.
Published
Versions
- 26-08-2023 (2)
- 26-08-2023 (1)
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Aninda Mandal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
