Herbarium
- A storehouse of collected plant specimens that are dried, pressed and preserved on sheets.
- Along with these specimens, a piece of detailed information about them is written.
- On the lower corner of the right-hand side of the sheet, the points written are:
- English and Vernacular/local name of the specimen.
- The date on which it was collected.
- The place from where it was collected.
- Botanical name and family of the specimen.
- Name of the collector of the specimen.
- These sheets then are arranged according to a universally accepted system of classification.
- These sheets are stored for future use in research and study.
- These are the quick referral systems in taxonomical studies.
Taxonomical Aids
Earth has a variety of living organisms, which vary in size, shape, nutrition intake, reproduction, habitat, etc. These organisms are classified into different orders and classes based on their characteristics. These organisms are known by different names in their native countries, which leads to confusion among people. So, to rule out this confusion, a particular scientific name is given to them which is the same around the world. This process is known as nomenclature.
For plants, the scientific names are given by ICBN (International Code for Botanical Nomenclature), while for animals, ICZN (International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) provides the name.
In this article, we are going to discuss Taxonomical aid. But, before that, we must know why we need them. Taxonomical aids are those instruments that help us:
- To store and preserve the information along with the specimens of various species.
- To study and do extensive research about these species, and whether they can be useful to agriculture, industries, forestry, as bio-resources, and daily life.
- In studying the organisms, their taxonomical hierarchy, and taxonomical rank.
- Useful in the identification and classification of organisms.
Some of the procedures and techniques to preserve and store the information along with the specimens are explained below: