Discipline: Botany Paper: Plant Systematics Lesson: Field inventory, herbarium preparation and management, important herbaria and botanical gardens of the world and India Lesson Developer: Dr. Anjula Pandey Department/College: National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110 012, India Lesson Reviewer: Dr. Prithipal Singh Lesson Editor: Dr. Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany, ILLL

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Table of Contents 

Introduction



Field Inventories 

Simple Inventories



Advanced Inventories

 Major Use of field inventories  Preparation of Field Inventories



Herbarium Build-up and Management  What is a Herbarium  Use of a Herbarium 

Herbarium Management and Preparation of

Herbarium 

Build-up of herbarium collection  Advantages and disadvantages



Important Herbaria 

World



India



Important Botanical Gardens



Summary



Exercise



References/Selected Readings

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Learning outcomes The contents of this chapter would be helpful in better understanding of plant systematics. They address the following: ● Role of field inventory, herbaria and botanical gardens in plant systematic research. ● Use of above tools in study of plant systematics. ● Methodology to prepare field inventory and herbarium specimen. ● Management and use of herbarium collections as knowledge resource.

Introduction Field inventory, herbaria and botanical gardens provide a good source of documented knowledge on plant wealth of a region. Depending on the objective of study these knowledge resources provide an information base for wider use. Some selected information on these aspects is provided here:

1 Field inventory: Field inventories, also called the botanical inventories, is a list of the species occurring in an area; they have a very important role in plant systematic studies. The composition of a field inventory is dynamic, as are the plants in an area. The inventories are developed for a specific goal, for example field inventories on: (i) floristic diversity, (ii) crop plant taxa, (iii) wild relatives of crops, (iv) weedy species of a region, etc. Preparation of an inventory by a botanist will be for studying the flora of an area, whereas for a plant genetic resource scientist it would be for the study of cultivated plants of a region, etc. (Fig. 1). Field inventories can be updated by repeatedly adding information to these lists. The most common types of field inventories in use are: 1.1 Simple inventories: simple inventories are preferred for routine use. These may be prepared on the use, area, or season of plant availability. The person preparing the field inventory should be familiar with the area as well as the plant species available. A good field botanist needs to recognize these characters. She/he should be able to place an unidentified species in a larger taxonomic group (family or genus) and then use botanical keys and laboratory equipments to complete the identification. Less familiar species may either be new to the area or may occur in a different season; there are equal chances that they may have been overlooked during earlier study. In a given area, plants have different flowering and fruiting time. While preparing a comprehensive field inventory of a region one needs to visit the area at different times

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of the year to prepare a comprehensive list of species. It will include plants available in flowering and fruiting as well as at the vegetative stage. Using this data, a key based on seedling, leaf, fruit or seed characters can be developed to facilitate identification of plants. 1.2 Advanced inventories: advanced inventories provide comprehensive information as compared to those of the simple inventories. They include mapping of plant diversity, location data and additional details pertaining to the botanical study of an area. The mapping data helps the collectors in identification during any time of the season,

especially

when

plants

are

at

vegetative/

dormant

stage

or

are

at

flowering/fruiting stage. Mapping enhances application and utility to projects relating to eco-geographical study, plant collection, conservation, and in-situ protection of an area. Field record books, data books, field guides, and modern equipments (polycorders for recording tree data, GIS- Global Information System, GPS-Global Positioning Systems) help in attaining precision to this work. Advanced inventories have an added advantage over simple inventories.

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Figure 1: Inventorization of crop plants: selecting material for study in farmer‟s field (top); recording of information on plant use (bottom) (photo: Dr. KC Bhatt, NBPGR, New Delhi) (for details refer: http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/services/inventory.cfm)

1.3 Major uses of field inventory ●

Provides a comprehensive listing of plant diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity in an area

●

Facilitates consultation/ referral use in collecting, conserving and study of plants

●

Ensures locating sampling sites;reduces failure rate due to human error and thus efficiently achieving the target

●

Serves as base line for assessment of plant diversity and monitoring erosion status (rare, endangered, vulnerable, abundant)

●

Efficienctly locating plant species using modern tools

●

Is complementary to „plant checklist‟ (informational listing of plant species)

●

Helps in routine update of older plant records of an area

1.4 Preparation of field inventories  Set the goal of your study and purpose of field inventorying  Be familiar with plant community structure, area details and other relevant information base  Visit study area on a regular schedule (weekly/monthly/seasonally/need based), be familiar with plants species, soil type and other environmental factors. Prepare a chart for verifying the presence or absence of species, growth pattern in different seasons/time, and climatic conditions

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 Obtain prior approval from concerned authorities (land, area, field) before starting the field study ()  Workout cost of implementation (if falling within the permissible limits)  Map location of listed plants; verify for accuracy and precision  Check for correct identity of plants; if needed take necessary help (expert/ facilityherbaria)  Prepare herbarium vouchers for future reference (see item 2; Herbarium)  Include mapped location of plants, aerial photographs of habitat, and a listing of species including rare species

Box: Steps involved in inventorization 

Species recording: in an area, a field, a forest, a market etc. (objective of study/ project of work)



Identify the area: garden, research plot, field, protected area; landscape



Listing: plants included in simple list



Mapping tools: location (through field survey, use of GPS, etc.), field databases/ polycorders; linkage with remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS); map and field survey proformae



Maps: local, regional, sub national, national and international



Identification/ validation: using taxonomic tools



Environmental data: on vegetation, soil, hydrology and disturbance factors



Inventory preparation: species, location, information details, maps

Source:http://www.natureserve.org/conservation-tools/expert-services/fieldinventory-and-assessment Ensure that the:  Team: comprises of members with expertise in related fields (ecology, botany, and soil science, population biology, etc.)  Designate plant status: species reported as abundant/ common, rare, and/or endangered in the area  Data collection: whether surveyed before? (if yes, provide details: date/information recorded). If not, provide reasons

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2 Herbarium buildup and management 2.1 What is a herbarium? A herbarium is a specialized facility where dried plant specimens are housed in a systematic order to serve as reference material for any plant based research (Fig. 2). The herbarium specimens are grouped according to a standard system of classification. Herbarium specimens must be prepared by using standard procedures. However preparation of specimens of some material may require specialized efforts (difficult group). An ideal herbarium specimen should represent all parts of the plant. It should be healthy and processed so as to allow examination of both surfaces of the leaf.

Figure 2 : Compactors used for storage of herbarium specimens at National Herbarium of Cultivated Plants (NHCP) at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources Source: www.nbpgr.ernet.in

Target users of herbarium Students (in basic/ applied research), breeders, taxonomists, agronomists, weed scientists, pathologists (host identification), foresters, medicine men, pollination biologists, genetic resource personnel, conservators, molecular biologists Reference: http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/gotoWhatIsHerbarium.do

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Information/ notes must be provided on the labels pasted on the herbarium specimen sheets. This must include the location of collection, date, and field data, as well as the name of the collector and the collection number. Additional information on ethnobotany and phytogeography, area of availability, variability pattern, flowering/fruiting time, status regarding rare/endangered/endemic types, economic uses of plant species may also be provided. 2.2 Uses of a herbarium Being a repository of plant specimens, a herbarium may be of restricted or wide use. Thus, herbaria associated with teaching/ educational institutions will have specimens for basic study. On the other hand institutions dealing with survey, exploration and collection will have specimens collected from wider floristic region with good variation. Ethnobotanical institutions will, however, have plants of ethnobotanical use. The information available on herbarium label could be helpful in planning and management of genetic resources and may serve the users in various ways. Thus, internationally recognized herbaria have very large collections and provide important material for taxonomic research. Some of the modern uses of the herbarium include providing a resource for generating the profile of chemical constituents and DNA fingerprinting (Rogers and Bendich 1985).

Box: Basic use of Herbarium -Major source of information on plants and vegetation -Use in taxonomic research and as a teaching aid for floristic records of a region -Floristic and monographic research; preparation of floras -Species identification -Distribution records, evolutionary and phylogenic study - Repository for type specimens -Provide material for palynology, anatomy, chemical analyses/DNA fingerprinting

Source: http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/navigator.do

Details:www.virtualherbarium.org/vh/100UsesASPT.html ;

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2.3 Herbarium specimen

management

and

preparation

of

herbarium

The standard procedure for preparation of herbarium specimens involves: 1) Collection and processing of specimens; 2) Taxonomic identification, 3) Indexing (classification according to a standard system) and documentation, and 4) Inclusion in herbarium (Fig. 3). The procedures for preparation of herbarium specimens may vary depends on type of material. Management of herbaria involves activities linked to build-up, maintenance and use. Establishing a herbarium depends on aims and objectives as well as the target users. One has to ensure that the specimens included are correctly identified, safely preserved, indexed and accessible for use. Well identified specimens can serve as an aid for teaching and research or as a reference collection. 2.3.1 Build-up of herbarium collection a. Collection and processing of specimen Source of material depends on activity with which the herbarium is associated. Additions are made through collections from fields, material raised in experimental gardens and voucher samples and seed material deposited by researchers. The selected plant/ part (15-30cm long) to be prepared as herbarium specimen should have flowers, or fruits or both. It should be representative of diversity, or a distinctive part of the species, in a natural population. Plants are collected using a strong knife, a pair of pruning shears or secateurs, or dug out (if vegetatively propagated) when the underground part is required. Polythene bags or vascula (singular vasculum; metal collecting cans) are used to collect the material. Formaldehyde (about 4-10 per cent) may be added to avoid any infection especially in case of plants with bulky fruits and/or fleshy plant parts. Delicate plants should be pressed immediately after collection to avoid wilting. A tag with collector number, date of collection, is attached to individual plants. Notes such as collector's name and collection number, place and date of collection, should be recorded in a field notebook. Additional features of the plant not shown by the dried specimen (height of plant for trees or shrubs, flower colour, leaflets- which may be shed on drying), associated flora, distribution, latitudelongitude, soil, temperature, rainfall data at the site of collection, must also be mentioned.

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While preparing herbarium specimens of a “difficult to process group” (succulents, fleshy material, water plants, woody perennials) additional steps are followed (Jain and Rao 1977; Rao and Sharma 1990). Large plant parts (leaves, inflorescences, fruits) are processed separately; woody and fibrous material is dried as bulky collection and succulents/ fleshy material as wet collection. Herbarium specimens can also be collected for molecular study (Rogers and Bendich 1985).

1

2

3

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4

5

Figure 3 :1. Selecting the ideal material for making into a herbarium specimen; 2. Pressing and spreading the parts to show characters; 3. Mounting and making herbarium specimen; 4. Dried herbarium specimen put in folders and included in the herbarium storage cabinets; 5. Study of flower and minute parts

Freshly collected specimens are pressed in “a plant press” with blotting papers and left tied for 24 hours (sweating period). When first opened, ensure that all plant parts are neatly rearranged on fresh blotters or newspaper sheets. Extra blotters and corrugated sheets used between the specimens can enhance the drying process especially during wet season. The bundle with specimens tied using a strong belt/strap is again put in the press for 24-36 hours. The same process is repeated for about a week or until drying is complete (especially in succulent/ fleshy material). Plant specimens must be processed for drying right in the field (using field press) or at least on the same day (using heavy lab press). Drying methods The most commonly used method for processing plant specimens for a herbarium is the “dry pressing” system (as described above). However, a “wet collection” method can also be used when large collections are made. In this method, the collected specimens

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are placed between sheets of paper and about 40-50 such specimens are tied together. These bundles of specimens are then placed in large polythene bags and formaldehyde solution is added. These bags are then sealed and stored till the collectors return to their base. The wet specimens are then carefully taken out and spread on fresh dry blotting sheets and dried (Saldanha & Nicolson 1976). Drying can be enhanced using artificial heat (drying chambers, ovens, stoves, etc.) (46-50 degrees C) and putting corrugated sheets between the blotters. Special techniques are adopted by using micro-wave ovens for drying succulents or fleshy material (such as fleshy roots in vegetables, succulent fruits or large leaved plants) in the beginning of processing (Fuller and Barber 1981). A part of the material can also be put in a wet collection (4 per cent formalin) or in special dried form/ cut section (ex. trunk of a tree) to represent characters difficult to preserve during drying. Fully dried specimens are grouped into bundles (of 30-35 specimens/bundle) within a herbarium press in between thick sheets of cardboard, and tied tightly.

Fruits, seed

samples and economic products, which may be large and bulky, may be dried or preserved separately (bulky herbarium). Preservation Herbarium specimens are poisoned immediately after collection or at the time of mounting. Dipping/ spraying the specimen with saturated solution of mercuric chloride in ethyl alcohol and processing the same for drying is generally practiced. For mounted specimens a brush may be used to apply the chemical. Under long term storage, specimens need routine fumigation to avoid infestation of pests. Volatile poisonous liquids like carbon disulphide, methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride pose a health hazards and should be handled with great care. Some user friendly practices of dusting specimens with naphthalene powder or deep freezing (-20 degree C for 72 hours) treatment done on regular intervals is effective in controlling pests/pathogens during processing or under storage. In recent times, some herbaria (example the herbarium at the New York Botanical Gardens) “freeze dry” all new specimens before processing them. This has helped in preserving many organisms (such as fungal spores/insect parts) along with the host plant. Such specimens have become useful for study by many specialists, other than plant taxonomists. b.

Mounting of specimens

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Completely dried, poisoned specimens are mounted on good quality (preferably acid free) standard-sized (40x28cm) mounting sheets/boards. Different materials such as glue, paste, narrow strips of glued linen, thread, etc. are used for mounting. Herbarium label (11x6.5cm) containing information on plant name, family, local name, date of collection, place of collection, collector‟s number, collector's name, identity status etc. (flowering/vegetative) should be pasted on the bottom right hand corner with information typed or filled with permanent ink (Fig. 4). Paper pouch containing extra plant parts is pasted on the bottom left hand corner to serve as source of study material.

Figure 4: Herbarium specimen mounted after processing

c. Identification of the plant specimen Identification methods involve careful examination and comparison of the characters vis-a-vis the description of plant in the regional floras using family, genus and species keys, and cross matching with already available and identified specimens (detail refer to topic 2). Unidentified specimens can be sent to different institutions/ experts for proper identification. Specimens for identification must be: (a) completely dry, (b) free of infection and infestation, (c) well-labeled with complete collection details, and notes on

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plant, locality and habitat features. These could be brought personally for identification or sent by post (ensure proper postage handing) to the institution/ specialist. d. Indexing and documentation After mounting, labeling and identification, the specimens are given a unique number called Herbarium Accession Number. Specimens are arranged in a hierarchical system: species - genera - family - order and so on, following a standard system of classification such as that of Bentham and Hooker, or Engler & Prantl (Lawrence 1951). It is also common to arrange the genera and/or species (within a family) in an alphabetical manner to enable easy retrieval. Type specimens are very significant for nomenclatural purposes and are very important collections in many herbaria. They are housed separately with special care and are not handled routinely. A system of colour code assigned to genus folders can be followed to facilitate quick access to species. Duplicate collections are properly numbered and placed separately and used in case of need for exchange or otherwise. In recent years, to facilitate fast access (and avoid mishandling of dried specimens), digital scans/ images are being made available for use. Such virtual herbaria can serve as good as real

herbaria.

However

they

cannot

replace

the

real

herbarium.

(www.kew.org/data/herb_digitisation.html; http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=60285&flora_id=2). 2.3.2 Advantages and disadvantages Herbarium specimens: Advantages: plants made as herbarium specimens have many advantages: 1) easy to handle, refer and study; 2) sending/ exchange is simple; 3) drying and mounting is convenient and economical; 4) can be stored in less space as compared to wet collection. Disadvantages: 1) characters are lost on drying; 2) represent only a part not entire population or plant; 3) needs regular maintenance for pest free, dust free storage. Wet preservation: Advantages: 1) shape and other structural characters are retained for study. Disadvantages: 1) bulky and difficult to handle for identification or study; 2) soft material and fragile material lose colour after long time; 3) routine maintenancerefilling of liquid; 4) more space required.

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3. Important herbaria of the world and India: There are approximately 4,000 recognized herbaria in the world; collectively global herbarium specimen collection is approximately 3,50,000,000 specimens. Herbaria associated with different region across the globe can be located through the “Index Herbariorum” (a global directory of public herbaria and associated staff). India represents over 3.5 million herbarium specimens including over 23 thousand type specimens (Source:http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/IndexHerbariorum.asp ).

3.1 Major herbaria of the world and number of their specimen holdings (Source:http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/IndexHerbariorum.asp) Table see (page 24)

Some Important Herbaria of India* S. no.

Indian herbarium (code)

1.

The Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta (CAL) (i) Eastern Circle Herbarium, Shillong (ASSAM) (ii) Southern Circle Herbarium, Coimbatore (MH) (iii) Arid Zone Circle, Jodhpur (BSJO) (iv)Western Circle Herbarium, Pune (BSI) (v) Northern Circle Herbarium, Dehradun (BSD) (vi) Andaman and Nicobar Circle, Port Blair, A&N (PBL) (vii) Central Circle Herbarium, Allahabad (BSA)

2.

Forest Research Institute, Dehradun (DD)

4.

Blatter Herbarium, Botany Department, St. Xavier‟s Collage, Mumbai, Maharashtra (BLAT) National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (LWG)

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Herbarium of Industrial Section, Indian Museum, Calcutta, West Bengal (BSIS) Medicinal Plant Herbarium, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (CDRI) Herbarium of State Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (BSIP) Herbarium of the Agharkar Research Institute, Department of Botany, Pune, Maharashtra (AHMA) Herbarium of the Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu (HIFP) National Herbarium of Crop Plants, National Bureau Plant Genetic

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Resources, New Delhi (NHCP) *Source: Singh 2010 with modification

3.2 Important Botanical Gardens of the world and India Botanical gardens are the institutions that maintain living plant species belonging to wide categories viz. ornamental species, wild-cultivated plants, water plants, topical and temperate species. They are a valuable resource for botanists, horticulturists, foresters, conservators, and also for teaching and awareness to public and tourists. Plant species from various geographical regions of special interest are maintained under natural or protected environment. Depending on the plants contained in botanical garden facilities such as green houses, glass houses, temperate and tropical houses, water bodies (ponds, lakes) are available for maintenance. Besides, other resources of botanical

garden

include

herbarium,

research

laboratories

and

collection

of

photographs, paintings, illustrations, reprints, etc. Modern botanical gardens in real sense are the botanical institutions that perform the function of documentation, research, reference, and conservation.

Roles of Botanical gardens 1.

Provide information on local flora and are used in the preparation of monographs.

2.

Serve as centre of introduction and acclimatization; have helped acclimatization of various economic plants coffee, tea, cotton, cinchona, and commercial flowering and vegetables, introduced from other regions of the world.

3.

Maintain germplasm of commercial plants (ornamentals) used for breeding.

4. Conserve the threatened and endangered species across the globe under artificial conditions. 5. Provide information on food plants, ornamental plants, medicinal plants, etc. 6. Centre for supply of seed or planting material for research in systematic horticulture, ecology, genetics, etc. 7. Demonstrate and provide information on the protection of endangered species, and propagation of rare plants; rearing of home garden and seasonal plants. 8. Serve as training centres for students by providing them laboratory, classroom, greenhouse, etc.

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9. Linked to educational programmes in conducting workshops and training sessions for teachers, students, naturalists, etc.; facilitate organizing courses on local flora, horticulture, hybridization, plants propagation, conservation of nature, etc. 10. Provide aesthetically pleasing environment and thus play a major role in providing sound mental health. 11. Are the place of recreation for people of diverse age group. 3.2.2 Type of botanical gardens Depending on the major plant species represented in a botanical garden they are classified as: 1. General botanical gardens: maintaining plants from diverse geographical regions, diverse categories (economic use) 2. Arboretum: only trees grown (Arnold Arboretum) 3. Orchidarium: collection of orchids 4. Pineatum: collection of conifers 5. Bambusatum: maintaining bamboo collections 6. Palm house: maintaining palm collection

Source:www.nybg.org/;www.kew.org/;www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/; 10mosttoday.com/10best-botanical-gardens-in-the-world; delhi.gov.in/wps/.../world+top+10+botanical+garden.pdf? www.nbpgr.ernet.in/ 3.2.3 Major botanical gardens of world Padua Botanic Garden, Italy: The botanical garden of Padua is world's first university botanical garden and probably the oldest one founded in 1545. This garden represents the birth of botanical science, of scientific exchanges. Padua garden has tremendous collection of grasses, alliums, iris, Paeonia, Mediterranean endemics, medicinal plants, aquatics and cacti, aroids, orchids. This garden is well known for many tropical exotics like Ginkgo biloba, Platanus orientalis in its arboretum. Exotic species such as Cedrus deodora, Pelargonium cucullatum and Jasminum nudiflorum were introduced to other part of Europe.

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Pisa Botanical Garden, Italy: Pisa Botanical Garden was established by Luca Ghinni in 1545. This garden was a site of many floristic studies including the flora Tuscan published for the first time by Georgio Santi (1782-1814), Italian plants list in Compedio della Flora Italiana by Giovanni Arcangelli (1881-1915), and paleontological studies carried out first in this garden. Pisa garden is famous for many tree species like Aesculus

hippocastanum,

Magnolia

grandiflora,

Liriodendron

tulipifera,

Ailanthus

glandulosa and Cinnamonum camphora. Leiden Botanic Garden, Netherlands: Leiden Botanic Garden was started with its first planting in 1594, seven years after its foundation. This garden was established to serve as demonstration garden to the medical faculty of University of Leiden. The first green house was established in this garden to protection of plants introduced from Cape of Good Hope. Many of plants collected by East India Company were grown in this garden. Vanilla, Cinchona and camphor have been introduced through this garden. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland: This garden established in 1670 is famous for Rododendrons and Azaleas. The Rock garden is finest in the world and remarkable

for

its

Himalayan

alpine

plants.

Other

species

like

Araucaria,

Rhododendron, Primula, Aconitum, Adenophora, Arisaema, Clematis, Delphiniums, Buddleia, Crotoneaster, Jasmine species are grown in this garden. It has a demonstration garden, glass house, hebarium and library. Royal Botainc Garden, Kew, England: Royal Botanical Garden originally established in 1760 but was officially opened in 1841. It is the largest botanical garden of world. Later this garden was transferred from British Crown to British Parliament, and Sir William Jackson Hooker took over as the first director in 1841 who established a green house and started collecting plants and exchanging them with other gardens. At present, the herbarium of this garden contains over 7 million specimens, its arboretum has over 7,000 species, and its glasshouses have over 15,000 speceis. Its Jodrell Laboratory provides best research facilities in the world for cytologists, anatomists, geneticists and physiologists. A beautiful Alpine house, Rose garden, Bamboo garden, a Lily pond and palm house are also attached to this garden. Special gardens at Kew comprise Rhododendron gardenDell, Bamboo Garden, Chalk Garden, Rock Garden, Shrub Garden, Health Garden and Rosary. The plant layout at Kew includes willows, oak, elm, Cedar, Lilacs, Orangery, pine, sweet chestnut, tulip, Azaleas, Dafodils, poplar, ferns, Thuja, Cypress, Japanese Ceder, red wood, etc. Because of all these facilities and vast development, Kew Gardens are called the botanical capital of world.

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New York Botanical Garden, USA: The New York Botanical Garden has remarkable diversity of tropical, temperate, and desert flora. The Garden is also a major educational institution for visitors, teachers and school children. It operates one of the world's largest plant research and conservation programme, including researchers, scientists working in the Garden's state-of-the-art and molecular labs as well as in the field. Arnold Arboratum, Michigan, USA: Arnold Arboretum, one of the best arborata in the world

was established

in

1872. This Arboretum

has a

rich

treasure of

Rhodedendron, Forsythia, Prunus, Sargentina, Magno- lia cambelli, Paeonias, Malus etc.

3.2.4 Major botanical gardens of India Lalbagh or the Mysore State Botanical Garden, Bangalore: Lalbagh also called Mysore state botanical garden is a historic garden known for its best layout, maintenance, and scientific interest. It has played a role in development of horticulture in India by extensive plant introduction. This garden was laid in the form of royal retreat in Bangalore by Sultan Hyder Ali in 1760. Later in the eighteen century many species from Delhi, Lahore and Multan and new species of flowering and fruit plants were introduced. Later many exotic species were introduced in this garden. This garden is well known as horticultural centre with well-equipped laboratories for seed-testing and soiltesting, and also a grape orchard, tree nursery, fruit nursery, pot-garden, economic garden, and a herbal garden.

Lloyd Botanic Garden, Darjeeling Lloyd Botanic Garden, Darjeeling was established as a branch of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta. The garden is situated in Darjeeling Himalayas at an altitude of 6000 ft. It has collection of indigenous plants of Sikkim Himalaya, and separate sections of coniferous and species from Burma, China and Japan. Among many coniferous species Australian Callitris is a significant collection. A Rock Garden, Orchidarium, Bulbous section, Succulent section, Seed section, Herbarium, and Rosary are its major attractions. This garden is a major institution for the distribution of seeds, bulbs, and plants of temperate Himalaya to different parts of the world.

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National Botanic Garden, Lucknow The National Botanic Garden, also popularly known as Sikander Bagh was converted into a botanic garden in its new form in 1946 by Professor K.N. Kaul, who was its first director. The present garden and its laboratories are spread over 27 acres of land on the bank of river Gomti. Popular attractions of this garden are its Rosarium, Palm house, Cactus house, Fern house, Orchid house, and orchards of mango, citrus and guava. It has well-equipped laboratories of Plant Morphology, Aromatics, Cytogenetics, Plant breeding, Tissue culture, Virology, Palynology, Plant Physiology, Entomology, etc. and an experimental research station located at Banthra.

Botanical Garden of Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun Botanical Garden of Forest Research Institute established in 1934 covers an area of about 20 acres in New Forest Estate, Dehradun. It is the main Indian centre of research in problems related to plant introduction and research on introduction and forestry species. There are about 700 species of plants belonging to about 400 genera and about 100 families in this garden with over 300 species introduced from different parts of the world. The present valuable collection of fine Indian wood maintained at FRI Xylarium owns its origin made for Paris International Exhibition in 1878 is attraction of many visitors. The garden has a greenhouse, a cactus house, a Plant Introductory Nursery, a bamboosetum and its herbarium. Its biggest attraction is a big herbarium holding over 34, 00, 00 plant specimens from all over the world. It is has attained the status of one of the principal botanic gardens of the world.

Indian Botanical Garden, Calcutta The Royal Botanic Garden is the „Largest Botanical Garden of India‟ located in Sibpur, Calcutta. This garden was popular by name „Company Bagan‟ or „Calcutta Bagan‟. Renamed in 1950 as the Indian Botanic Garden, or Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose. William Roxburgh, the Father of Indian Botany, was its second director and founded the world famous herbarium of this garden. The garden is now under the control of Botanical Survey of India.

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This botanical garden is famous for wide variety of plant species grown in this garden brought from other countries. There are over 15,000 species of plants in this garden from several countries. Some main attractions of the garden are its Palm-house, Orchid-house, Pinetum, Ternary, Cacti-collection, the giant water lily, Victoria regia, and the section of medicinal plants. The garden is now noted for cultivation of potato, aloe, coffee, India-rubber, cardamom, henbane and introduction of jute, sugarcane, tea, and quinine-yielding Cinchona. The garden has the largest and best herbarium in the country. The great Banyan tree, of over 250 years old and one of the largest trees in size in the world, is the main centre of attraction of this garden.

Government Botanical Garden, Ooty Government botanical garden located in Udamangalam in Tamil Nadu is the largest garden FAMOUS FOR for roses in India. About three hundred varieties of roses are grown in this garden. There are many lawns representing diverse collection of thousands of species of exotic plants, shrubs, trees and bonsai. Among the notable tree species are cork tree, paper bark tree, monkey puzzle tree and a fossil tree trunk of 20 million years old.

Summary This chapter includes details about field inventories, herbaria and botanical gardens and their use in plant systematic research. Methodologies to prepare field inventory and herbarium specimen are also included. The above resources are major source of knowledge base pertaining to plant systematic research especially when there is restricted access to plants from diverse geographical regions across the world.

Exercise



How is a standard herbarium specimen prepared for study of taxonomy and systematic research? What precautions would you take to processa herbarium specimen of cultivated plant species?



What do you understand by herbarium management? Differentiate between type specimens and vouchers specimens maintained in a herbarium?

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

What are different methods of pest free storage of herbarium?



What method is used to process the fleshy parts of a plant or cone in herbarium?



List guidelines for collection of plants in field and processing them for the herbarium.



Document the data that should be recorded in the field at the time of collection?

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of living collection of plants maintained in botanical gardens?



How is herbarium a specimen collected for molecular study?



Collect six plants in an area from diverse habitat and record information relevant to diversity study?

References/ Selected readings Davis, PH and Heywood, VH (1963) Principles in Angiosperm Taxonomy. University of Edinburgh Press, Great Britain, p 556. Fuller, TC and Barber, GD (1981) A Micro-wave oven method for drying succulent plant specimens. Taxon 30: 867 Holmgren,

PK,

and

Holmgren,

NH

(1998,

continuously

updated). Index

Herbariorum: A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York: New York Botanical Garden. Jain, SK and Rao, RR (1977) A Handbook of Field and Herbarium Methods. Today and Tomorrow Printers and Publishers, New Delhi, p 157. Lawrence, GHS (1951) Taxonomy of Flowering Plants. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co., p 823. Nayar, ER, Pandey, A, Pradheep, K, Gupta, R, Bhandari, DC, Bansal, KC (2011) National Herbarium of cultivated plants. Technical Bulletin. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi. Rao, RR, Sharma, BD (1990) A Manual for Herbarium Collections. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, p 20.

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Rogers, SO, Bendich, AJ (1985) Extraction of DNA from milligram amounts of fresh, herbarium and mummified plant tissues. Plant Molecular Biology 5: 6976. Saldanha, CJ , Nicolson, DH (1976) Flora of Hasan district, Karnataka, India. Amerind Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. Singh, HB (2010) Handbook on Herbaria in India and Neighbouring Countries. National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), New Delhi. Avery, GS Jr. (1957) Botanic gardens – what role today? Amer. J. Bot. 44(3): 268-271 Hill, AW (1915) The history and functions of botanic gardesn. Anni. Miss Bot. Gard. 2:185-225. Thompson, PA (1972) The role of botanic garden. Taxon 21(1): 115-119. Wyman, D (1970) How to establish an arboretum or botanic garden. Arbori Bot. Gard. Bull. 4(52): 52-60.

Web Links

http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih/ http://164.100.52.111/indianBotanicgarden.shtm;Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, BSI, Web. 28 Feb. 2011. botany.si.edu/documents/2003_Funk_100Uses.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_herbaria http://bsienvis.nic.in/files/List%20of%20Indian%20Herbaria.pdf http://www.wlivenews.com/top-5-famous-botanical-gardens-inindia.html#sthash.T0fjc1fi.dpuf

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Major herbaria of the world and number of their specimen holdings

Sl. Name of Museum/ Herbarium no.

Code

Specimen (no.)

1

Museum of Natural History, Paris

P

8,000,000

2 3.

K GH

7,000, 000 5 ,005, 000

4.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Combined Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge New York Botanical Garden, Bronx

NY

7, 300, 000

5.

U S National Herbarium, Washington

BARC

1,25, 000

6

British Museum of Natural History, London

BM

5, 200 ,000

7

Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

F

2, 700, 000

8

Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis, USA

MO

5 ,870, 000

9

Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, Berlin

B

3 ,500, 000

10

Academy of Natural Science, Philadelphia

ANSP

2,45, 000

11

University of California, Berkeley

JEPS

96 ,000

12

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

MICH

1 ,700, 000

13.

Komarov Botanical Institute, Leningrad

LE

7,106,000

14

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburg

E

2,000,000

15

Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta

CAL

2,000,000

16

Swedish Museum of Natural History (Naturhistoriska riksmuseet)

S

4,400,000

17

British Museum of Natural History, London, England

BM

5,200,000

18

Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland

H

3,000,000

19

Herbarium Museum of Evolution Uppsala University, Sweden Herbarium Botanical Garden Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

UPS

3,100,000

C

2,610,000

20

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Additional information: (www.barcodeoflife.org/psa/collections/IH_8.pdf)

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