Shibpur Botanical Garden to Develop India’s First Living Plant Encyclopedia

Howrah: The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanical Garden in Shibpur, Howrah, is launching India’s first dedicated Plant Taxonomy section.

This translates into a unique living encyclopedia of India’s plant diversity and could provide a major boost to botanical research and education in the country.

Built over two acres, this space is set to function as a living library of plants. It will be accessible to anyone who wants to learn about plant biodiversity and how plants are related and classified.

Each plant will feature a QR code allowing visitors to instantly access information on its lineage, origin and conservation status.

This will improve plant record-keeping and enhance research and public education. It will allow visitors to instantly access detailed information about its taxonomy, origin and conservation status.

The new section will open in the next few months. It will showcase 175 families of flowering plants (Phanerogams), including 143 Dicotyledons, three Gymnosperms and 29 Monocotyledons. There will be 5 special blocks of Cryptogams such as Algae, Fungi, Lichens, Bryophytes and Pteridophytes.

The display will follow the Natural System of Classification developed by George Bentham and J D Hooker.

This plant taxonomy section will make important contributions to plant conservation, research and education, leveraging new tools and technologies.

For the first time in the country, researchers can gain a clear understanding of living plant representatives in a centralised location. This includes numerous rare, endemic and threatened species, all organised according to the Classification System.

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