Process of Identification

HERBARIUM AND BOTANICAL GARDEN

 Herbarium
• Herbarium is a repository of plant
specimens where specimens are preserved,
stored and arranged in a sequence of an
accepted system of classification for future
reference and study.
• Prof. Luca Ghini initiated the art of
herbarium making by pressing and sewing
specimens on sheets of paper.
 Functions of Herbarium
• Store house of plant specimens: Primary role of a
herbarium is to store dried plant specimens, safeguard against
loss and destruction by insects, and make them available for study.
Further studies such as chromosomal, phytochemical,
ultrastructural or any specialised study rests on these specimens
• Safe guard of type specimens: Type specimens are the principle
proof for existence of a species. These are often kept in a
separate room in several herbaria.
• Identification of specimens: Majority of herbaria involves wide
range of plant collection and provide on site plant identification or
specimens can be requested by researchers across the world for
identification and consultation.
• Information on geographic distribution: Majority of herbaria have
collection from different places of world and can provide
information about geographical attributes.
• Training in herbarium methods: Many herbaria carry time to time
 Functions of Herbarium……….
• Compilation of Floras, Manuals and
Monographs: Herbarium specimens are the
original documents upon which the
knowledge of taxonomy, evolution and plant
distribution rests. Floras, manuals and
monographs are largely based on herbarium
resources.
• Conservation of genetic resources: many
herbaria also store seeds of rare, threatened
and extinct plants species.
 Important herbaria of World
S.No. Herbarium No. of Specimens
1 Natural History Museum, Paris 80,00,000
2 New York Botanical Garden, New York 72,00,000

3 Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Petersburgh, Russia 71,60,000

4 Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, England 70,00,000

5 Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Geneva, Switzerland 60,00,000

6 Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA 58,70,000

7 British Museum of Natural History, London 52,00,000

8 Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 50,05,000
9 Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden 45,70,000

10 US National Herbarium – Smithsonian Institution, 43,40,000

Washington DC
 Important herbaria of India
S.No. Herbarium Acronym No. of Specimens
1 Central National Herbarium, Howrah CAL 25,15,000
2 Herbarium of Forest Research Institute, DD 3.30,000
Dehradun
3 Madras Herbarium, Coimbatore MH 2,74,863

4 Eastern Regional Centre Herbarium , ASSAM 2,71,000

Shillong
5 National Botanical Research Institute, CNH 2,60,000
Lucknow
6 Western Regional Centre Herbarium, BSI 1,76,600
Pune
7 Northern Regional Centre, Dehradun BSD 1, 20, 230
8 Blatter Herbarium, Botany Dept., St. BLAT 1,15,244
Xavier College, Mumbai
9 Botany Dept. Herbarium, Presidence PCM 1,00,000
College, Tripiliacane, Chennai
10 Ranipat Herbarium, St. Joseph College, RHT 86,077
Tiruchirapali
HERBARIAL PRACTICES
 The various herbarial practices
include –
 Collection
 Pressing
 Drying
 Poisoning
 Mounting
 Sticking
 Labeling
 Deposition
1. Plant Collection
Procedures
 To press each plant as soon as it is collected, is most
satisfactory method.
 To accumulate the collected material in a metallic
collecting can or vasculum or in polybag or rucksack.
 Material required:
 A collecting pick,
 a strong knife,
 a cutter (pair of pruning shears)
- are essential for making collections.
 A note book for taking field notes;
 paper tags
- for giving collection numbers.
Camera, GPS, certain chemicals to avoid drying of
specimens
COLLECTION TAG
2. Plant Pressing
Procedures
Material required:
 Plant presses
 Blotting papers
 Pressing papers (News paper
sheets)
 Corrugates often referred to as
ventilators (12" x 18") made of card
board or aluminum or VC.
  Selection of plant specimens:
 Select healthy specimens free from insect
feeding, rust infection and other
pathological symptoms.
 Avoid underdeveloped individuals.
 Ensure that the specimen is either in
flowering or fruiting condition.
 Vegetative/spank material is generally
worthless.
 Include enough of underground parts for
herbaceous plants.
  Arrangement of the specimen within the
pressing paper:
 Attach paper tag bearing collection number to
the stem;
 Cover maximum surface of the pressing paper
with the specimen;
 As far as possible restrict the specimen to a
single standard folded sheet of pressing paper;
 When individual plants are very small, many
may be pressed on one sheet.
 Herbaceous specimens larger than 40 cm
may be accommodated in two by folding in a
V-shaped or N- shaped manner;
 Arrange one or more leaves with lower side
uppermost;
 Large palmately compound leaves may be
split half lengthwise and one half discarded;
 If the plant is very tall herb, press a section
from bottom, another from middle, and a third
from top;
 Plant with gamopetalous corolla should have
a few flowers pressed separately and some of
these split open spread before pressing to
show various floral parts;
 All roots or other underground parts should be
washed free of soil before pressing whenever
possible.
 Special pressing treatment for some group of plants:
Some fleshy plant species such Aloe vera, Cactus store
large amount of water inside their stem and is very difficult
to dry them. So, a slight cut is made in the stem before
pressing to ooze out the liquid
  Special aids for better arrangement of
specimens:

 Metal bars are helpful in holding larger specimens.

 Placing a single layer of absorbent cleansing tissue
beneath and over the flower with deliquescent
corollas or perianth is helpful during drying. It may be
carefully removed later on.
 Pads of newsprint or sponge rubber are useful when
placed around bulky portions (e.g. large fruits) of
specimens.
 Wet strips of newspaper are useful in holding down
plant parts. These strips dry in the press and are
removed from the specimen.
PLANT PRESS
CORRUGATED SHEET
3. Drying Techniques
 Those accomplished without heat.
 Those using artificial heat.
 Drying by artificial heat is the prevalent
method in most herbaria. Drying by this
method is quicker but there are several
disadvantages:
 specimens loose any waxy bloom or
glaucescence that may be present;
 become brittle during drying;
 do not retain the coloration.
4. Poisoning of Mounted
Specimens (application of
insecticides)
 Insecticides kill the insects that are likely to
eat or damage the specimens .
 Common insecticides used are:
 cyanide gas,
 para-dichlorobenzene (PDB),
 mercuric chloride (bichloride of mercury-
corrosive sublimate),
 carbon disulphide,
 DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane) etc.
 The specimens are again dried.
5. Mounting the Specimens
AND STICKING
 Dried specimens are mounted on standard
herbarium sheets.
 Standard Herbarium Sheet = 29 x 42 cm
(11.5" x 16.5").

 Most herbaria use glue or paste to fasten

specimens to the sheets.
 Sticking at places by thread is employed in
Indian herbaria.
 Adhesive strips of linen or cellotape may also
be used.
6. Labeling of the Specimens
 The labels provide the person using the
specimen with pertinent data not
apparent from the material.
 These are pasted on lower right hand
side of the sheets.
 Data on the labels should be typed.
The data should include:
 the name of the plant in binomial format,
 name of the family and locality
 date of collection,
 name of collector etc.
7. Housing of Specimen
Sheets
 The specimens are usually housed in herbarium
cases,made of steel.
 Different specimens of a species are placed in a
species cover, species of a genus are placed in a
common generic cover and different generic folders
are placed in a family box.
 The specimens of families are arranged according to
an accepted system of classification.
 All specimens are given herbarium accession
numbers and are catalogued (in the form of a book)
in a register.
 The specimens are frequently sprayed with repellent
or disinfectants (such as DDT powder, copper sulfate
solution) at intervals of 4-6 months.
 
BOTANICAL
GARDENS
• Botanical garden is a place where different species of
plants from varied habitats and climatic regions are
grown for study, aesthetic, conservation, economic,
educational, recreational and scientific purposes.
• The first modern botanical garden of world was
established at Pisa, Italy in 1544 by Prof. Luca Ghini.
• Different sections in a Botanical Garden:
1. Arboretum: section of a botanical garden where only woody trees are
planted.
2. Palmetum: plantation of palms only
3. Bambosetum: where bamboos are planted
4. Orchidarium: store house of orchids
5. Cactorium: where only cacti (cactus) are grown
6. Pinetum: section where only conifers (pines) are planted
7. Lily House/pond/aquatic section: where lilies/algae/aquatic plants
are grown
 Functions of a Botanical Garden
• (BG
Research and )
training: BGs generally have wide range of species
collecting from different places and provide readily available material
for research purposes. Several BGs such as Royal BG, Kew, London
offers training programmes for students, researchers.
• Aesthetic appeal: BGs attract large number of visitors across the world
for observation of plant diversity as also the curious plants.
• Conservation: BGs plays an important role in conservation of genetic
diversity (threatened and rare species).
• Seed exchange: Several BGs across the world free exchange of seeds
of ornamental and rare species.
• Public awareness: BGs also provide information to general public
about regional and local flora, native and exotic species of plants,
methods of propagation and also supply plant material through sale.
• Herbarium and library: Several BGs of the world have herbaria and
libraries as an integral part of their facilities and offers taxonomic
material for research at a single place.
 Major Botanical Gardens of
World
S.No. Botanical garden Year of establishment
1 Pisa Botanical Garden, Italy 1544
2 Royal Botanical garden, Kew, 1600
London (Largest)
3 Berlin Botanic Garden and 1679
Museum, Germany
4 Cambridge University Botanical 1762
garden
5 Missouri Botanical Garden, USA 1859
6 New York Botanical garden, USA 1891
 Major Botanical Gardens of India
S.No. Botanical Garden Area
1 Indian Botanic Garden, Sibpur, Calcutta 271 acres
2 Lalbagh Botanical garden, Banglore 240 acres
3 National Botanic garden, Lucknow 75 acres
4 Garden of Indian Agriculture Research 60 acres
Institute, New Delhi
5 Botanical Garden, Saharanpur, UP 40 acres
6 Lloyd Botanic Garden, Darjeeling 40 acres
Botanical Gardens in
Chandigarh
• P. N. Mehra Botanical Garden, Panjab
University, Chandigarh.
• Chandigarh Botanical garden and
Nature Park, Sarangpur, New
Chandigarh.
THANK YOU