Herbarium Preparation and its significance

1. DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
Dr. K.M. Ranjalkar
Assistant Professor & Head
Department of Botany
Late Pushpadevi PatilArts&ScienceCollege
RisodDist. Washim (M.S)
email: botanyhodlppc@gmail.com
WhatsApp: 9398711627

3. HERBARIUM SHEET

4. HERBARIUM
 The herbarium is a storehouse of plant
materials with valuable data
mentioned on their labels.
 The material in the herbarium remains
as permanent record of flora of those
regions even the natural topography
and the vegetation have changed or
extinct.
 In these the herbarium provide
evidence of what once existed.

5.  The herbarium specimens bear labels
with adequate data on habitat
 common name
 native uses
 ecological notes like frequency and
abundance of species
 associated plants
 habit etc.

6.  These types of data for the particular
species, but from different collections of
different regions, when carefully studied
and analyzed, provides valuable material
for almost complete description of
various taxonomic characters such as
morphological range of variation,
distribution etc.
 A herbarium receives fresh material by
collection of its staff, through gifts,
exchanges etc. So it is a conservatory of
material and data.

7.  The first herbarium of world has founded
in 1545 in the University of Padua, Italy.
 In the world there are about one
thousand five hundred recognized
herbaria, besides many smaller herbaria
with institutions, universities, pharmacies
etc.
 Some important herbaria of the world
and India are listed below along with
their country, year of founding and
approximate number of sheets.

8.  Herbarium, collection of dried plant specimens
mounted on sheets of paper.
 The plants are usually collected in situ (e.g.,
where they were growing in nature), identified by
experts, pressed, and then carefully mounted to
archival paper in such a way that all major
morphological characteristics are visible (i.e.,
both sides of the leaves and the floral
structures).
 The mounted plants are labeled with their
proper scientific names,
 the name of the collector and,
 usually, information about where they were
collected and how they grew and general
observations.
 The specimens are commonly filed in cases
according to families and genera and are

11. Important Indian Herbaria
 National botanical Garden, Lucknow,
India
 Lloyd Botanic Garden, Darjeeling, India
 Royal Botanical Garden, Sibpur,
Calcutta, India
 Forest research institute, Dehradun,
India
 Madras Herbarium, Agricultureal College
and Resarch Institute, Coimbatore.
 Herbarium of the division of Botany,
Indian Agricultural Research Institute,
New Delhi, India

12. SIGNIFICANCES ARE:
 It provides valuable data and material.
 Helped in all kinds of taxonomic researches.
 It aids in assessment of conservation status of a taxon.
 It acts as an aid in taxonomical researches.
 It serves as a fundamental resource of identification of
almost all plants of country and even world.
 As source of estimation of global biodiversity.

13. SIGNIFICANCES ARE:
 It is a base line for data on distribution and abundance of
keystone species.
 It helps in distributional range and population biological
studies.
 The specimen tag carries all the information about habital,
habit, local name, flower colour, etc., of plant specimen for
further botanical, ethnobotanical, phytogeographical studies
etc.
 It may be useful as source of material for anatomy, palynology
cytotaxonomy biochemistry, pharmacognosy etc. studies.
 Herbarium serves as an aid in teaching plant taxonomy.
 It may provide seeds of extinct plant species for further studies.