Commercialization–A Suggested Approach for Conserving a Threatened Fern, Pteris tricolor Linden

A globally threatened and variegated fern, Pteris tricolor Linden, is listed under different threat categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)¹. It has a restricted distribution in far North East India, Myanmar and Yunnan province of China^2,3. Its discovery, however, was accidental; Linden⁴ found this species growing spontaneously in the Malaccan orchid consignment at his nursery in Bruxelles (Brussels), Belgium, and described it as a new species with accurate, spectacularly coloured illustration (also reproduced by Fraser-Jenkins⁵). Its Malaccan origin^4,6–9 is rejected because till date it has not been reported from there. Later, it was postulated that it has more likely come from Myanmar¹⁰, or alternatively from China or NE India; but in all three countries it is a rare species.