General Articles
Ornamental pteridophytes: an underexploited opportunity for the Sri Lankan floriculture industry
Authors:
RHG Ranil,
LK
About RHG
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya.
CK Beneragama,
LK
About CK
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya.
DKNG Pushpakumara ,
LK
About DKNG
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya.
DSA Wijesundara
LK
About DSA
Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya.
Abstract
In the floriculture industry of Sri Lanka, the main operations are the production of cut foliage followed by rooted cuttings and potted plants for the export market. Cut foliage species include several genera and species of flowering plants and a few species of pteridophytes. The history of collection of pteridophyte flora in Sri Lanka dates back to 1672, however at present only a few of pteridophytes are used in the domestic and international floriculture markets. Sri Lanka is blessed with a high level of diversity of pteridophyte taxa, with an enormous diversity of plant form, appearance and foliage patterns. They thrive in many habitats and are suitable to be used in the floriculture industry of the country. Several species are suggested as suitable candidates for rational domestication and use in the floriculture industry. Effective domestication of the selected pteridophyte taxa will be useful for their in situ, ex situ and circa situm conservation through utilisation.
J.Natn.Sci.Foundation Sri Lanka 2015 43 (4): 293 - 301
How to Cite:
Ranil, R., Beneragama, C., Pushpakumara, D. and Wijesundara, D., 2015. Ornamental pteridophytes: an underexploited opportunity for the Sri Lankan floriculture industry. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, 43(4), pp.293–301. DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/jnsfsr.v43i4.7964
Published on
26 Dec 2015.
Peer Reviewed
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