When plants are dried, pressed in form, sorted, pasted on a sheet of paper and labelled properly, a collection of them is known as a Herbarium. Prof. of Botany Luca Ghini set up the first herbarium in Pisa in Italy.
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| What is Herbarium? |
These sheets are arranged in the sequence of the accepted classification system of biology. On the Sheet, the labels are located at the right bottom corner, which provides information about the date and place of collection, There is a whole process through which a herbarium sheet is made of.
Role of Herbaria
The herbarium is used as a quick reference in taxonomic studies, so it plays a vital role in research and study.
Here are a few points on what role a herbaria play:
- Safety of Type Specimen
Type specimens, the description of which the species names are established, are kept in rooms which have limited access to the people.
- Identification Facility
It provides data for the identification of plant specimens for study.
- Training Facility
Herbaria have arrangements for training the interested persons in herbarium practices collection, pressing, drying, mounting, and labelling plant specimens.
- Research centers
Research centers for plant taxonomy, morphology, distribution and some other fields. It also provides information on endangered species.
- Repository of plants specimens
The major role of a herbarium is to store, and protect plant specimens from fungi and insects and also provide as and when needed for study reference