Bryology in India has seen remarkable progress starting with Kashyaps’ pioneering work, as reflected in its greatly improved multi-faceted research. This article summarizes some important developments in Indian bryology. Attention is drawn to the negligence of taxonomy in general and of the lower groups of plants in particular studies on bryophytes

Alam, Afroz

Chakraborty, Dipjyoti

Srivatava, S C

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123ISSN: 2348-1900Plant Science Todayhttp://horizonepublishing.com/journals/index.php/PST EditorialBryology in India - Retrospect and ProspectsSuresh Chandra Srivastava1, Dipjyoti Chakraborty2 and Afroz Alam2*1 Former Head, Department of Botany, University of Lucknow, U. P. (India)2 Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Rajasthan (India)Article historyReceived: 21 September 2015Accepted: 21 September 2015Published online: 1 October 2015© Srivatava et al. (2015)PublisherHorizon e-Publishing GroupCorresponding AuthorAfroz Alam afrozalamsafvi@gmail.com  AbstractBryology  in India has seen remarkable  progress  starting with Kashyaps’  pioneering work,  asreflected in its greatly improved multi-faceted research. This article summarizes some importantdevelopments in Indian bryology. Attention is drawn to the negligence of taxonomy in generaland  of the lower groups of plants in particular studies on bryophytes.KeywordsBryology; Bryophytes; Liverworts; Hornworts; MossesSrivastava, S. C., Chakraborty, D., and Alam, A. 2015. Bryology in India - Retrospect and Prospects.Plant Science Today 2(4): 123-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.14719/pst.2015.2.  4  .1  62 Bryology is the branch of plant science related withthe  methodical  study  of  bryophytes  (liverworts,hornworts  and  mosses).  The  detail  study  of  thebryophytes started in the 18th century. "Reproductionof the ferns and mosses" is considered as the first everdocumented  research  compiled  by  the  Germanbotanist Professor Johann Jacob Dillenius (1687–1747)in 1717. However, the credit for the establishment ofbryology as  a  branch goes  to  the  work of  JohannesHedwig,  who elucidated  the  reproductive  system  ofmosses  in  Fundamentum  historiae  naturalistmuscorum (1792), and also gave a taxonomic account. The  initial  areas  of  research  in  bryology  includetaxonomy  and  diversity  analysis  followed  byecological,  economical, medicinal and ethnobotanicalstudies. Globally, the principal centers of bryology researchinclude Germany,  Finland,  USA, UK, Japan, Malaysia,Russia, China and India.In India,  Bryology was initiated  by Professor ShivRam Kashyap  (1882-1934),  also  known as  ‘Father  ofIndian Bryology’. Later on, bryologists like Profs. S KPande and Ram Udar nurtured this branch of botanyin India.  Hence, there is a rich legacy of bryologicalstudies in India. Since Kashyap, the study of bryologyhas  strengthened,  consequently  several  books  andabout  thousands  of  research  papers  have  beenpublished  on  various  aspects  of  bryology.  Kashyappublished  the  first  ever  paper  on  liverworts  ofwestern Himalayas  in the year 1914.  Later his workwas published in two volumes: Liverworts of WesternHimalayas  and the Punjab plain,  Part  I  in 1929 andPart  II  co-authored with R.S.  Chopra in 1932,  whichincludes valid illustrations and distribution of forms.In  his  first  volume,  33  genera  and  70  species  aredescribed, out of which six genera and 50 species wererestricted  to  India.  Kashyap  recognized  four  wellestablished  genera  new  to  the  subject.  These  areAitchinsoniella,  Sauchia,  Sewardiella  andStephansoniella.  The  genera  were  monotypic  andendemic  to  India  (Aitchinsoniella  himalayensis,Sauchia,  spongiosa,  Sewardiella  tuberifera,Stephensoniella  bravipedunculata).  Besides,  he  alsodescribed 39 new species. Of the forms described inhis  book,  new  species  are  Anthoceros  erectus,  A.chambensis,  Notothylas  indica,  Riccia  cruciata,  R.melanospora,  R.  pathankotensis,  R.  robusta,  R.sanguinea,  Porella  acutifolia,  P.  denticulata,  P.obtusifolia, P. variabilis  and in general species limitedto  India  are  Anthoceros  erectus,  A.  himalayensis,  A.chambensis,A.  gollani,  A. longii,  Notothylas indica, N.levieri,  Marchantia  nepalensis,  M  simlana,  Ricciapathankotensis,  R.  himalayensis,  R.  melanospora,  R.robusta,  R.  cruciata,  R.  sanguinea,  etc.  His  theory ofRetrogressive Evolution in Liverworts  (Marchantiales)got distinctive position in the worldand is recognizedas a significant contribution. According to this theory,simpler  plants  like  Riccia  are  more  evolved  thanorganized plants such as mosses.Plant Science Today (2015) 2(4): 123-125http://dx.doi.org/10.14719/pst.2015.2.4.162Plant Science Today (2015) 2(4): 123-125Prof. S. K. Pande, a noted student of Prof. Kashyapwas the next gem from India in the field of bryology.His research interests included aspects on distribution,ecology,  taxonomy,  life  cycle,  ontogeny,  cytology,phylogeny,  etc.  Amazingly  amidst  this  apparentdiversity  in  his  study,  a  central  theme  alwaysremained.  He  worked  with  zeal  and  put  his  best  toassemble  data  on  hepatic  vegetation  of  India.  Hepublished 38 research papers individually or jointly inhighly reputed journals. He published only one paperwith Late Prof. Kashyap and described the life historyof Aneura indica. His first two papers on life history ofRiccia  and  Notothylas  marked  the  beginning  of  hisexcellent  contributions  which  gave  him an  enduringreputation  as  a  bryologist.  An  unremitting  problemsince the time of Leitgeb on the origin of archesporiumin  Notothylas  was  perfectly  concluded  by  him  whileworking  on  N.  levieri.  He  demonstrated  that  thearchesporium  is  endothecial  in  origin  and  this  hestrongly held to emphasize the underlying similarity ofthe  Anthocerotales  with  the  rest  of  the  hepatics.  Hesuggested  retaining  Anthocerotales  underHepaticopsida.  He established  Nowellia indica  (jointlywith T.N. Srivastava),  Riella vishwanathai  (jointly withK.C.  Misra and K.P.  Srivastava),  Cephalzia herzogiana(jointly  with K.P.  Srivastava),  Riccia  attenuata  and  R.aravalliensis  (jointly with R. Udar) as new species. Inhis  Presidential  addresses  to  the  Indian  BotanicalSociety,  he  reviewed  “Some  aspects  of  IndianHepaticology (Indian Botanical Society, 1958) and “TheAnthocerotales,  some aspects of their systematics andmorphology” (Indian Science Congress, Botany Section,1960).  His  important  contributions  are:  Studies  inIndian Liverworts: A Review (1936); Studies on IndianMetzgerineae I  to III (1954, 55,  56);  Studies in IndianHepaticae I to IV (1942, 43, 49); Genus Riccia in Indian Ito III (1957,  58,  59);  Bryology,  Progress of  Sciences inIndia (1957) etc. Writing a commemoration credentialof Late Prof. Pande, Dr. Udar (1964) wrote “year afteryear since 1936 he undertook extensive plant collectiontrips in nearly all parts of the country till the end of hislife  every  time  bringing  rich  collections  on  whichseveral  valuable  contributions  were  made  by  him.However, it is a great loss to bryology that he could notpublish results of his study on most of these collectionsand his experience of a life time is thus so sadly notavailable.” Udar who had more than 18 years of Prof.Pande’s association as a student and colleague pursuedhis  studies  on  bryophytes  and  established  a  newspecies  of  Notothylas,  N.  pandei  to  honor  this  greatIndian bryologist.Professor  Ram  Udar  shared  the  same  heritage  ofbryologists  in  India  to  which  his  mentor  the  lateProfessor S.K. Pande belonged. He published two booksand  over  200  research  papers  on  varied  aspects  ofIndian  Hepaticology.  His  noteworthy  contributionincludes the discovery of the two orders:  Calobryalesand  Buxbaumiales  in  the  bryoflora  of  India,monographic  studies  on  Indian  Metzgeriaceae,Fossombroniaceae  and  Aneuraceae.  Besides,  he  alsoworked  on  many  members  of  Marchantiales  andJungermanniales,  a  group  earlier  not  so  wellunderstood in India as it is today. His contributions onIndian  Anthocerotae,  particularly  on  the  genusNotothylas are worth mentioning. He imparted trainingin research to a number of students of whom ten havereceived their  Ph.D.  degree under  his  able  guidance.An  ardent  field  botanist,  Professor  Udar  led  regularexcursion trips to nearly all the parts of India and builtup a very rich collection of liverworts along with hisresearch associates. Most of his collections have beenpreserved  in  the  Lucknow  University  HepaticHerbarium (LWU) (Srivastava, 1986). Professor  Udar  was  a  member  of  the  AmericanBryological  and  Lichenological  Society,  BritishBryological  and  Lichenological  Society  and  NordicBryological  and  Lichenological  Society,  apart  frombeing life member of the Indian Botanical Society andPalaeobotanical  Society.  The  first  ever  association  ofbryologists in the form of Indian Byological Society wasestablished  by Prof.  Udar  for  deliberations  on issuesrelated  to  the  group  and  continues  to  be  a  vibrantforum  till  date.  He  played  a  crucial  role  in  the Horizon e-Publishing Group                         ISSN: 2348-1900124Prof. S. R. Kashyap (1882-1934) Prof. S. K. Pande (1899-1960) Prof. Ram Udar (1926-1985)Plant Science Today (2015) 2(4): 123-125functioning of the society as a Founder-President.  Hewas  crowned  by  being  elected  Fellow  of  the  IndianNational Science Academy in January 1985 - the highestachievement for a scientist in this country. He has leftbehind  a  well  established  school  of  bryology  atLucknow University which would continue to keep upthe high traditions of bryological research in India soably set by him. His legacy is thriving by excellent workin  bryology  by  his  able  students,  viz.  Prof.  S.  C.Srivastava,  Former  Head,  Department  of  Botany,University  of  Lucknow;  Dr.  D.  K.  Singh,  FormerDirector In Charge, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata;Dr. Virendra Nath, Former Emeritus Scientist, N.B.R.I.,Lucknow; Dr. A. K. Asthana, Senior Scientist,  N.B.R.I.,Lucknow  and  Professor  Geeta  Asthana,  LucknowUniversity to name a few.Most  of  the  contemporary  active  bryologists  andbryological centers of India are associated to the abovementioned stalwarts  in bryology.  Initially,  bryologicalresearch was more or less limited to the centers likeBotanical Survey of India,  Kolkata;  National BotanicalResearch Institute, Lucknow; Bryology Unit, Universityof Lucknow which are renowned worldwide for theirefforts  in  bryology.  However,  at  present  many  morecenters in states like Jammu & Kashmir,  South India,Odisha,  Andhra  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Gujarat  andRajasthan  have  joined  the  list.  Studies  in  molecularbryology,  genetics,  drought  tolerance,  medicinalproperties,  ecology,  economy  and  ethnobryology  thatrequire the application of modern, sophisticated toolsand techniques are also being done in addition to thetraditional taxonomical approach.Numerous  workers  (Bhardwaj,  Srivastava,Maheshwari, Kapil, etc.) were encouraged by Kashyapto  work  on  various  aspects  of  life  cycle  of  theseamphibian  plants.  The  bryophytes  of  Pachmari  havebeen  described  by  Pande  and  Srivastava  (1952),  ofMount  Abu by  Bapna  and  Vyas  (1962)  and from thevarious parts of India by Udar, Gangulee, etc. Severalnew  species,  e.g.,  Riella  vishwanathai  (Pande  et  al.,1954), Calobryum indicum (Udar and Chandra, 1965), C.blumii  (Udar  et al. 1965),  Haplomitrium hookeri  (Udarand V.  Chandra,  1962),  etc. have been recorded fromIndia.  The  discovery  of  Buxbaumia,  from  westernHimalayas  (Deoban,  10,500  feet  above  sea  level)  byUdar,  Srivastava and Kumar (1965)  is  of  tremendousimportance.  The  plant  shows  similarities  with  B.minakatae. It is a unique bryophyte (moss) which has aconspicuous sporophyte with very small gametophyte.It is partially saprophytic leading to an unusual modeof nutrition among bryophytes. It is now referred to asa new species,  B. himalayensis.  Numerous species arebeing  reported  new  to  science,  new  to  India  andendemic regularly. At present Botanical Survey of India(Kolkata),  National  Botanical  Research  Institute(Lucknow),  Bryology  Laboratory,  University  ofLucknow are among the prominent and active centersof bryological research in India. However,  bryology  originally  considered  as  anessential  component  of  study  and  research  in  plantscience is now fighting for its survival because; in theera  of  Biotechnology  it  is  considered  outdated.  As  aresult, now the Bryological studies are restricted to theundergraduate course only and at post graduate levelmany universities have dropped this group from theirsyllabi. The educationalists of our country need to payadequate  attention  to  this  group  and  revive  theresearch  and  also  Despite  worldwide  increasinginterest  in bryology, in India very few students takeBryological  research due to  lack  of  job opportunitieswith  bryology  as  their  research  specialization.Invariably, in most of the universities of India bryologyis  taught  by  a  non-specialist.  Molecular  phylogeny,applied genomics, targeted mutagenesis,  biochemistryand  metabolism,  unraveling  the  secrets  ofphotosynthesis are relevant topics of biology research.Mosses  show  excellent  attributes  of  model  plantsystems  and  are  attractive  experimental  plants,  anaspect  which  has  largely  been  ignored  by  IndianBryologists.  A  concerted  effort  towards  reviving  bryology  as  apreferred  discipline  of  study  is  required.  Theresponsibility of reviving interest in these rejuvenatingplants lies with contemporary experts and researchersin the field to restore it to its past glory.ReferencesBapna, K. R. and G. G. Vyas. 1962. Studies in the liverworts of Mt.Abu (India). I. A preliminary account.  J Hattori Bot Lab 25:81-90.Kashyap, S. R. 1929. Liverworts of western Himalayas and Panjabplains. Vol. 1, University of Panjab, Lahore. 129 Pp.Kashyap,  S.  R.,  and R.  N.  Chopra.  1932.  Liverworts  of  westernHimalayas and Panjab plains.  Vol.  2¸  University of Panjab,Lahore. 137 pp.Pande, S. K. and K. P. Srivastava. 1952. The hepatic vegetation of Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh): A preliminary survey. J Indian Bot Soc 31: 342-351. Pande, S. K., K. C. Mehta, and K. P. Srivastava. 1954. A new speciesof  Riella  Mont., R.  vishwanathai Pande, Misra et Srivastavasp. nov. Rev Bryol Lichenol 23:165-172.Srivastava, S. C. 1986. Professor Ram Udar (1926-1985). Cryptogam Bryol Lichenol 7: 499-509. Udar, R. and V. Chandra. 1965. A new species of Calobryum Nees,C.  indicum Udar  et  Chandra  from  Darjeeling,  EasternHimalayas, India. Rev Bryol Lichénol 33: 555.Udar, R. and V. Chandra. 1965. On two new species of Mannia , M.foreaui Udar et Chandra and  M. personii Udar et Chandrawith a note on the genus on the genus and its India species.Can J Bot 43: 147-160. Udar, R., S. C. Srivastava, and D. Kumar. 1971.  A new species ofBuxbaumia Hedwig,  B.  himalayensis Udar,  Srivastava  etKumar, from Deoban Western Himalayas, India.  Trans BritBryol Soc 6: 266-269.Udar,  R.,  V.  Chandra,  and  S.  Chandra.  1965.  Calobryum  blumiiNees-A taxon new to Indian Flora. Curr Sci 37:265.ISSN: 2348-1900                    Horizon e-Publishing Group125

Bryology in India - Retrospect and Prospects

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Bryology in India - Retrospect and Prospects

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