ACTIVITY 4 ;HERBARIUM

 HERBARIUM

 A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.

 

The specimens may be whole plants or  plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called exsiccate) but, depending upon the material, may also be stored in boxes or kept in alcohol or other preservative. The specimens in a herbarium are often used as reference material in describing plant taxa; some specimens may be types.

 

The same term is often used in mycology to describe an equivalent collection of preserved fungi, otherwise known as a fungarium. A xylarium is a herbarium specializing in specimens of wood. The term hortorium (as in the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium) has occasionally been applied to a herbarium specializing in preserving material of horticultural origin.

 

SPECIMEN PREPARATION

 

Commensurate with the need to identify the specimen, it is essential to include in a herbarium sheet as much of the plant as possible (e.g., roots, flowers, stems, leaves, seed, and fruit), or at least representative parts of them in the case of large specimens. To preserve their form and colour, plants collected in the field are carefully arranged and spread flat between thin sheets, known as flimsies (equivalent to sheets of newsprint), and dried, usually in a plant press, between blotters or absorbent paper.

 

During the drying process the specimens are retained within their flimsies at all times to minimize damage, and only the thicker, absorbent drying sheets are replaced. For some plants it may prove helpful to allow the fresh specimen to wilt slightly before being arranged for the press. An opportunity to check, rearrange and further lay out the specimen to best reveal the required features of the plant occurs when the damp absorbent sheets are changed during the drying/pressing process.

HERBARIUM SHEETS

 1. Jungle geranium

Botanical name: Ixora coccinea

Family: Rubiaceae

 2. Hibiscus

Botanical name:

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Family: Malvaceae

3. Custard apple

Botanical name: Annona squamosa L

Family: Solanaceae

4. Turkey berry

Botanical name: Solanum torvum

Family: Solanaceae

 5. Scarlet bush

Botanical name: Hemelia patens 

Family: Rubaceae

6.    Malabar Nut

Botanical name: Justicia adhathoda

Family: Acanthaceae

7 . Thumba

Botanical name: Leucas aspera L

Family: Lamiaceae

8. Four'o clock flower or marvel of peru

Botanical name: Mirabilis jelapa

Family: Nyctaginaceae

9. Bitter leaf or  vernonia

Botanical name: Vernonia cinera

Family: Asteraceae

10. Pineapple guava or guavasteen

Botanical name: Feijoa sellowiana

Family: Myrtaceae

11. Cashew  Tree

Botanical name: 

Anacardium occi-dentale

Family : Anacardiaceae

12.  Nerium

Botanical name: Nerium oleander

Family   : Apocynaceae

13. Scarlet gourd

Botanical name: Coccinia grandis L

Family   : Cucurbitaceae

14. Malabar melastome

Botanical name: 

Melastoma malabathricum L

Family   : Melastomaceae

15. Cyme rose

Botanical name: Rosa indica L

Family   : Rosaceae

16. Achiote

Botanical name: Bixa orellana L

Family   : Bixaceae

17. White Damar

Botanical name: Vateria indica L

Family   : Dipterocarpaceae

18. Champak

Botanical name: 

Michelia champaca L

Family   : Magnoliaceae

19. Red date

Botanical name: Ziziphus jujuba L

Family   : Rhamnaceae

20. Indian Traveller's Joy

Botanical name: 

Clematis gouriana Roxb

Family   : Ranunculaceae

21. Passion fruit

Botanical name: Passiflora edulis 

Family   : Passifloraceae

22. Crimson bottlebrush

Botanical name: 

Callistemon lanceolatus

Family   : Myrtaceae

23. Mukkootti or Little tree plant

Botanical name: 

Biophytum sensitivum L

Family   : Geraniaceae

24. Asian pigeonwings or blue pea

Botanical name: Clitoria ternatea L

Family   : Leguminosae

25. Gotu kola or Indian pennywort

Botanical name: Centella asiatica L

Family   : Apiaceae