Report and Opinion, 1(3), 2009, http://www.sciencepub.net , sciencepub@gmail.com Gymnosperms of Nainital Poonam Tripathi 1 , Lalit M. Tewari *2 , Ashish Tewari 3 , Sanjay Kumar 4 , Y.P.S. Pangtey 5 and Geeta Tewari 6 1,2*,4,5 Department of Botany, 3 Department of Forestry, 6 Department of Chemistry, D.S.B. Campus, Kumaun University, Nainital-India * corresponding author, e-mail: l_tewari@rediffmail.com Abstract: The Gymnosperms (gymno=naked; sperma=seeds; the terminology coined by Theophrastus) are a group of vascular plants whose seeds are not enclosed by a ripened ovary (fruit). In 1825 the Scottish botanist Robert Brown distinguished gymnosperms from the other major group of seed plants, the angiosperms, whose seeds are surrounded by an ovary wall. In the present study, 8 families of gymnosperms were identified which includes 15 species belonging to 14 genera. Pinus is represented by two species: Pinus roxburghii Roxb. And Pinus wallichiana A. B. Jackson. Cedrus deodara Roxb. Cupressus torulosa D.Don, Pinus roxburghii Roxb. Occurs in wild state while all others are grown as ornamental plants. [Report and Opinion. 2009;1(3):82-104]. (ISSN: 1553-9873). Key words: Gymnosperms, Nainital, naked ovule Introduction The Gymnosperms have been looked at differently, and have received varying degree of attention and treatment at the hands of botanists, at progressive period of time and in diverse geographical locations. These are common in Himalaya and the mountains of South and north India. These are the intermediates of the pteridophytes and the angiosperms. The gymnosperms have their ovules freely exposed before and after fertilization and not enclosed by any ovary wall. They are preferred by the gardeners and the plant lovers due to their gregarious looks, attractive foliage, heavy trunks and typical reproductive apparatus and are the chief ornamental plants. The wood is straight-grained, light for its strength, and easily worked. Wood of gymnosperms is often called softwood to differentiate it from the hardwood angiosperms (Chamberlain 1935, Dogra 1964, Dutta 1973, sahni 1986). These are the most ancient seed plants which are believed to be arisen during the late Paleozoic (ca 265million year ago: Uniyal & Awasthi, 2000), most of them perished in due course of time and are now represented by the orders- Cycadales (living fossil), Ginkgoales (living fossil), Taxales, Coniferales, Gnetales [4 orders in Raizada & Sahni, 1958: order Taxales (family Taxaceae) not separated from Coniferales]. About 17 genera, 60 species (Singh & Mudgal, 1997), known to occur in India and according to Uniyal & Awasthi (2000) 48 sps. (Wild) known to occur in India out of 63 genera, 750 sps.in world. The members of the order coniferales form a conspicuous group in north west and eastern Himalaya, the few members of which occur in the southern part. Although the family ginkgoaceae, araucariaceae and taxodiaceae are purely exotic but is successfully cultivated as well as naturalized in India (Beisnner and Hooker 1862-63, Biswas 1933, Arnold 1948, Sahni 1990, Uniyal & Awasthi, 2000). The Gymnospermous flora from Uttarakhand Himalaya are described by Hooker (1888), Duthie (1906), Osmaston (1927),Raizada and Sahni (1958), Chonnker and Bisht (1961), Gupta (1968), Singh & Mudgal (1997), Kalakoti (1983), Kalakoti and Pangtey (1984), Pandey & Pandey (1999) and Uniyal & Awasthi (2000).The thorough scrutiny of these literatures helped to present the census of the gymnospermous flora of the Kumaun. Although since the cretaceous period (144 to 66.4 million years ago) gymnosperms have been gradually displaced by the more recently evolved angiosperms, they are still successful in many parts of the world and occupy large areas of the earth's surface. So main motives behind the selection of the present study are the following: - (1) To explore the gymnospermic flora of Nainital region. (2) To highlight the economic importance of gymnosperms as medicinal Plants, ornamental utility and for miscellaneous uses. (3) To provide constant impetus for further researches on gymnosperms. Profile of Nainital Nainital is a glittering jewel in the Himalayan necklace, blessed with scenic natural splendour and varied natural resources, dotted with lakes. There lie a large number of small lakes of which Lake Nainital is the largest. It is a pear shaped lake, approximately 2 miles in circumference, and surrounded by 82