PTERIDOPHYTES FROM THE NORTHERN WESTERN GHATS OF MAHARASHTRA

Pteridophytes are the considered one of the early land dwellers and most primitive group of vascular plants that appeared on this planet in the mid-Palaeozoic era (i.e. approx. 438 million years ago) during the Silurian period (Dudani et al., 2011, 2014). Their adaptation to terrestrial condition by evolving specialized tissues for the translocation of water and food is responsible for their greater colonization in terrestrial ecosystems.