The Herbarium contains a collection of over
15,000 dried plants specimens are well preserved / mounted / identified and
en-catalogued and arranged as per Bentham & Hookers system of
classification. The collection of plant materials in Herbarium is being
enriched every year by organizing excursion tours of P.G. Students to different
Phytogeographical zones of India. Plants have been collected and deposited in
the Herbarium.
Herbarium specimens can provide information
on flower shape, leaf shape, leaf arrangement, seed structure, pollen structure
etc., and much more! They can even be used as a source of DNA for sequence
analysis. Plus, because the specimen label provides detailed information on
when and where the plant was collected, herbarium specimens are an historical
record of where and when plant species have grown. They are the basis of much of
the information that is published on plant species in floras and guide books.
While herbarium specimens are not as
beautiful as living plants, dead specimens do not need to be watered,
fertilized, or repotted. They also take up less space than living plants. Anyone
can use the herbarium. Students and faculty with many types of research
projects bring in plant samples for identification.
Each specimen has a label that details who
collected the plant and where and when they collected it. The label can provide
all sorts of information about the habitat where the plant was collected, the
elevation where it was found, the height of the plant, the color of the
flowers, or whatever else the collector noted down.
A flattened plant is an excellent
representation of its living three-dimensional counterpart, and once glued onto
sturdy archival paper, it becomes a herbarium specimen that can last for
centuries (the oldest specimens are about 500 years old). Each specimen has a
label that details who collected the plant and where and when they collected
it. The label can provide all sorts of information about the habitat where the
plant was collected, the elevation where it was found, the height of the plant,
the color of the flowers, or whatever else the collector noted down.
The herbarium also trains students in
curation and plant identification.In most years, large number of unidentified
plants were identified with our Taxonomy Faculty.
These specimens are mostly from Andhra
Pradesh and adjoining areas, common species are represented, but often only by
a single specimen, and many rare species are not currently in the collection.
The collections housed in this herbarium,
have been of inestimate able value to specialists of different disciplines for
study of groups / families / genera, etc. in reversionary / monographic work.
This herbarium serves as a centre for
authentic identification of the taxa. Further it provides a valuable
information and also the exact localities of plants for collection of materials
at the appropriate period for various kinds of scientific research work and
also for commercial purposes as a requirement of Pharmaceutical industries etc.
The herbarium also serves as a ready reference in getting information on
threatened plant species or endemism and also many unknown or little known uses
of plants recorded on the sheets. It also serves for many other educational
purposes.
Herbarium consultation :
With prior permission from Head & Herarium keeper ,Herbarium, Department
of Botany,Sri Venkateswara University,Tirupati.
