Ferns, collectively, represent an ancient species of vascular plant which has a direct connection to the beginning of life on Earth. Today they are valued for their ornamental appeal, environmental benefit or as sources of health benefiting metabolites. Current pteridology, the study of fern, encompasses a wide range of research activities including, but not limited to, plant physiology, stress tolerance, genetics and genomics. The goal of this book is to compile the most relevant research done with ferns during the last decade. It is organized into four parts: I, Biology and Biotechnology; II, Evolution and Conservation; III, Metabolism and Genetic Resources, and IV, Environment. Each section reveals the utilization of ferns as a tool to explore challenges unique to plant development and adaptation. This project represents our collective effort to raise the awareness of ferns as a model system to study higher plant functions. Among the distinctive features of our proposed book are: (i) a wide range of topics with contributing researchers from all around the world, and (ii) recent advances of theoretic and applied knowledge with implications to crop species of economic value.

Ferns, collectively, represent an ancient species of vascular plant which has a direct connection to the beginning of life on Earth. Today they are valued for their ornamental appeal, environmental benefit or as sources of health benefiting metabolites. Current pteridology, the study of fern, encompasses a wide range of research activities including, but not limited to, plant physiology, stress tolerance, genetics and genomics. The goal of this book is to compile the most relevant research done with ferns during the last decade. It is organized into four parts: I, Biology and Biotechnology; II, Evolution and Conservation; III, Metabolism and Genetic Resources, and IV, Environment. Each section reveals the utilization of ferns as a tool to explore challenges unique to plant development and adaptation. This project represents our collective effort to raise the awareness of ferns as a model system to study higher plant functions. Among the distinctive features of our proposed book are: (i) a wide range of topics with contributing researchers from all around the world, and (ii) recent advances of theoretic and applied knowledge with implications to crop species of economic value.

In the 1970s, Rolla and Alice Tryon of Harvard organized an annual fern conference at Harvard Forest every spring. The mission of the conference was to bring together researchers from across a broad spectrum of biology whose common link was that they either studied ferns per se or utilized ferns in their experiments. Talks ranged from classical pteridological subjects such as taxonomy, paleobotany and morp- logy, to experimental areas such as ecology, physiology, development, genetics, and biochemistry. For the participants, of whom I was lucky to be one, it was an int- lectually exhilarating experience. We all learned new things, and the cross fertili- tion of different subjects and research approaches led to new ideas and a better understanding of ferns as organisms. The present volume, Working with Ferns: Issues and Applications, edited by Helena Fernandez, Ashwani Kumar and Maria Angeles Revilla, carries the Harvard Forest Fern Conference philosophy into the twenty-first century. The editors have assembled a truly remarkable array of contributions dealing with fern biology. Starting with researches utilizing Ceratopteris, a fern whose speedy life cycle I discovered during my doctoral research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew more than 40 years ago, and ending with a study of Pteridium aq- linum, a cosmopolitan species taxonomically revised by Professor Rolla Tryon, the papers in Working with Ferns: Issues and Applications offer a look at what is new in pteridology.

In the 1970s, Rolla and Alice Tryon of Harvard organized an annual fern conference at Harvard Forest every spring. The mission of the conference was to bring together researchers from across a broad spectrum of biology whose common link was that they either studied ferns per se or utilized ferns in their experiments. Talks ranged from classical pteridological subjects such as taxonomy, paleobotany and morp- logy, to experimental areas such as ecology, physiology, development, genetics, and biochemistry. For the participants, of whom I was lucky to be one, it was an int- lectually exhilarating experience. We all learned new things, and the cross fertili- tion of different subjects and research approaches led to new ideas and a better understanding of ferns as organisms. The present volume, Working with Ferns: Issues and Applications, edited by Helena Fernandez, Ashwani Kumar and Maria Angeles Revilla, carries the Harvard Forest Fern Conference philosophy into the twenty-first century. The editors have assembled a truly remarkable array of contributions dealing with fern biology. Starting with researches utilizing Ceratopteris, a fern whose speedy life cycle I discovered during my doctoral research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew more than 40 years ago, and ending with a study of Pteridium aq- linum, a cosmopolitan species taxonomically revised by Professor Rolla Tryon, the papers in Working with Ferns: Issues and Applications offer a look at what is new in pteridology.

Ferns are representative of genetic inheritance of great value as they include species of ancient vascular plants, which have direct connection with the evolution of plant life on Earth. This volume brings a selection of chapters covering a range of themes on fern biology, its development and growth, useful protocols for propagation and conservation purposes, genetic diversity, as well as medicinal and environmental applications. The content is organized into four parts: Biotechnology of Ferns Propagation of Ferns Ferns in Medicines Environmental Regulation This wide spectrum of the contributions provides quick access to information on the enormous potential of this plant group. This book brings together most recent research work and novel techniques, which is far from the traditional perspective usually followed. It is of interest to teachers, researchers, and botanists. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, botany, forestry, and ecology.