Herbarium specimens include plants, conifers, ferns, mosses, liverworts and algae as well as fungi and lichens. … A collection of plants is a Herbarium. A collection of wood specimens is a Xylarium. A collection of cultivated plants is a Hortorium.

Similarly, How do you make a herbarium label?

The label should, at minimum, contain the determination (family, genus, and species), collection location (as specific as possible), the date of collection, the name of the collector(s), and the collection number. The examples below illustrate examples of what we would like your herbarium labels to look like.

Additionally, Which is the largest herbarium in the world? – The world’s largest herbarium is housed in the Royal Botanical Garden. It is a 326-acre site in Kew with 40 historic buildings; it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 3 July 2003. The correct answer is option (a) Royal Botanical Garden, Kew.

Which is the largest herbarium in India?

The largest herbarium in India is located at Kolkata in Shibpur on the west bank of the river Ganga. It covers around 273 acres of land having thousands of preserved plant specimens and 12,000 living perennial plant species. Historically it was known as The Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden.

Which plant is used in herbarium?

Typically, the plants are flattened, dried and mounted on uniformly sized, archival paper, but some herbaria also include mosses, algae, fungi or lichens in archival paper packets, seeds, wood sections, pollen, microscope slides, DNA extractions or jars of plant parts preserved in alcohol or glycerin.

What does herbarium label contain?

Label of herbarium sheet carry information about date and place of collection, local and botanical names, family and collector’s name.

What size is an herbarium label?

The standard size of a herbarium sheet is 41cm x 29cm or 11.5 inch x 16.5 inch.

How do you label a plant specimen?


Arrange the Specimen

  1. Arrange the plant and label on the correct size of the mounting paper before gluing anything down!
  2. Labels are placed in the bottom right corner, unless unfeasible due to the shape of the specimen. …
  3. Annotation slips with name changes go above or to the left of the label.

Which is the largest herbarium in Asia?

Flora of China. The herbarium is located in the Beijing Botanical Garden in Xiangshan, a western suburb about 16 km from downtown Beijing. It is one of the oldest herbaria in China and is the largest in Asia.

Where is the largest botanical garden in India?

Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden

Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden of India

Kolkata, West Bengal
Type Public
Location Shibpur, Howrah
Nearest city Howrah, Kolkata
Area 109 hectares (270 acres)

Who is known as the father of botany?

Theophrastus (c. 371–286 BC), known as the ‘father of botany’, wrote many books, including the 10-volume set, Historia Plantarum (‘Enquiry into Plants’).

Where is the largest herbarium situated?

The largest herbarium is known as the Royal botanical Garden situated in a district of London. Complete answer: The largest herbarium of the world, Royal Botanical Garden is located at Kew in England. The Herbarium houses approximately 7 million specimens, collected from all around the world.

What is the most important herbarium in India?

MAJOR HERBARIA IN INDIA

The Central National Herbarium (CAL) located at Howrah, established in 1795 and comprises about 2,000,000 (2 million) specimens. This is the first herbarium in the country and one of the most important Asian Herbaria.

How do you collect plants for herbarium?


The tools needed for collecting plants are:

  1. clippers to cut plants.
  2. digger to dig plants.
  3. plastic and paper bags to put your plants in until you can press them.
  4. a field notebook with your name on it.
  5. small tags to attach to the plant specimen.
  6. a pencil.
  7. a map of the area (a GPS unit is a helpful addition)
  8. plant press.

How do you put plants in a herbarium sheet?

Pressing: Use a press made with a pair of hardboard or plywood boards cut to the same size as the drying paper. Place some corrugated card on one board, then place two sheets of the blotting paper on top of this. Arrange your plant material on blotting paper retaining the character of the plant.

How herbarium is useful for plant preservation?

Plant specimens preserved in an herbarium represent the best record of the plant’s original distribution. … If a plant becomes extirpated from an area or becomes extinct, specimens preserved in a herbarium may represent the only record of the plant’s original distribution.

Where is labeling done on a herbarium sheet?

Explanation: Lower corner of sheet and generally its size is 7×12 inches.

What information does a herbarium carry write about any two?

(b) The specimens in the herbarium carry valuable data on their labels. These include data on habitat, habit, local names, colour of flowers or other characters of the plant, native uses of the plant, abundance or frequency of the species, associated plants, etc.

What information does the top line of a locality label contain?

The locality label is a description of where, when, and by whom the specimen was collected. The locality label should at minimum include: Country, state (territory, province), and county (township) information should be presented across the top of the label.

What is the length and breadth of a herbarium sheet?

Once mounted and deposited in the herbarium, the collections are referred to as herbarium specimens, which is fairly significant. Specimens are set up on sheets of size herbarium paper 42 cm length, 29 cm breadth which is standard. Hence, the correct option is 42 cm, 29 cm.

What is a plant specimen?

Specimen plants are plants grown by themselves, usually, in a lawn or garden, for ornamental effect, rather than being massed with others as are bedding plants, hedge plants, or edging plants. … It is easy to remember what “specimen” plants are if you learn the Latin root that the word is based upon.

How do you make a plant specimen?


Pick Your Specimen

  1. Make detailed field notes for the area before collecting the plant.
  2. Collect a good specimen – all the parts needed for accurate identification. …
  3. Attach a tag to your plants as you collect them. …
  4. Collect flower and fruit whenever possible – positive identification often requires both of these.

How do you preserve a plant’s specimen?

Place another piece of newspaper on top of the plant. Make layers. Place the pieces of newspaper with your specimen inside between two pieces of blotting paper, then between two pieces of corrugated cardboard, to allow air to circulate. Place the resulting package in the plant press and gently screw it down.