Question: In which of the following state India’s first Moss Garden is located?
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Uttarakhand
c) Himachal Pradesh
d) Ladakh
Answer: (b)
Related Facts:-
- On 21 November 2020; Uttarakhand government announced that now the state has first Moss Garden of India.
- This Moss Garden of India has been developed at Khurpatal in Nainital.
- It was approved in 2019, under the CAMPA scheme by the Research Advisory Committee of Uttarakhand Forest Department.
- On 20 November 2020, the moss garden, the first in the country, was inaugurated by renowned water conservation activist Rajendra Singh.
- The main aim behind developing the garden was to conserve the various species of moss and other bryophytes.
- The moss garden of this kind also fulfill the purpose of making people aware of its significance in the environment besides creating a recreation centre for tourists.
Moss and its Species:
- Moss Garden, Khurpatal houses around 30 different species of moss and certain other bryophyte species.
- Two of the moss species found here – Hyophila involuta (Cement Moss) and Brachythecium Buchanani – figure in International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list.
- It has a moss trail of 1.2 km on which different moss species and scientific information about them is displayed.
Practical utility of Moss
- It has an interpretation centre in which different aspects of moss are displayed through models.
- The interpretation centre of the garden also has a First World War painting showing use of Sphagnum moss as a dressing for wounds.
- Sphagnum moss is useful for treating wounds as absorbs liquids about three times more quickly than cotton.
- Sphagnum is cooler, softer, and less irritating than cotton, besides having antiseptic properties.
- It also produces sterile environment by keeping the pH level around wounds low and thus inhibiting the growth of bacteria.
- The garden also boasts of a dinosaur model showing existence of moss since the Jurassic era.
- Ornaments made of live moss which is very popular in Japan,
- Japan has a moss terrarium depicting live moss ecosystem and nest of birds using moss for temperature regulation and antibacterial purposes.
- Poems and caricatures related to moss are also displayed at the garden.
- Moss is one of the most ancient flora on the planet, existing since Jurassic era.
- Moss is the first plants to grow on rocky land and by breaking down the rocks and the soil. They help create a suitable environment for other plants to grow.
By – Rajesh Triapthi