The importance of plants in everyday life can hardly be over estimated as most of the things that we need have got their origin in some plant part or the other. The collections of, Botany Section arranged in two galleries, namely the Systematic Botany Gallery and the Economic Botany Galim In the Systematic Botany Gallery, the exhibits are arranged in their evolutionary order starting w the primitive Cryptogams ie., algae and fungi. The families of flowering plants are arranged according to the Bentham and Hooker's system of classification.
The Systematic Botany deals with the classification of plants. The study is based upon the structural resemblance of plants and is helpful in identifying them. The resemblances are brought out by describing, naming and arranging the plants in a methodical manner for which a thorough knowledge of morphology is necessary. This gallery is mostly used by the students and the scholars in the field of Botany for taxonomic references. Representative collection of the timber specimens of South India are kept on display in this gallery. The collections date back to the year 1946 itself and were received from the Utilization Officer, Forest Research Institute Dehra Dun. This Catalogue of South Indian timbers is the first of its kind and has been prepared with the commercial uses, by the author for the benefit of the students, the scholars and the researchers in the subject of Botany. This book provides information of the Botanical name and Vernacular names of the Timber specimens in Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, and a few other available names of other languages. The habit of the tree has been provided for the easy identification of the trees of commercial value. Hundred and sixty one timbers inclusive of eighty six specimens on display and seventy five in the Reserve collection have been enumerated here. The illustrative Photographs have also been provided only for the timber specimens kept on display. Based on the contents of taxonomical data, this Catalogue will be of useful reference work to botanists of all values of life and general public as well.
The timber collection showcased in the Gallery exhibits interesting specimens. To cite a few, the Cross section of Tectona grandis, commonly known as the Teak wood is displayed in the systematic Botany Gallery. This reveals the annual rings, depicted with the historical events that have taken place from the year 1400 to 1900 for a period of five hundred years. Similarly another interesting specimen is the 200 years old Dalbergia latifolia commonly called as the 'Rose wood'. It is a deciduous tree, attaining a large size in South India and also in Eastern Bengal and Central India. It belongs to the family 'Fabaceae'. The cross section of the wood is kept on display. It is quite interesting to note that both the specimens were gifted by the Maharaja of Travancore in the year 1880.
The Botany Section of Government Museum, Chennai has a rich collection of Botanical specimens arranged systematically in two galleries. The Economic Botany gallery highlights man's dependence on plants in the day-to-day life. The rich collection of South Indian Timbers showcased in the Systematic Botany Gallery highlights its commercial usage. The Section has been conducting periodical Exhibitions, Plant Preservation Training programmes and nature walk emphasizing the importance of flora.
'Cataloguing' is one form of documentation which helps in recording as well as disseminating the technical & popular data concerned with the museum collection. The Catalogues published by the Government Museum, Chennai are regarded as staple reference works amidst people of all walks of life.
Adding one more jewel to its crown, the Museum has taken up the endeavour of publishing the Catalogue of South Indian Timber with the aim of fulfilling the long felt need in this direction. In this work, one hundred and sixty one choice timbers both in display and reserve collection of the Botany Section of the Museum were catalogued with choice plates of illustration.
I congratulate Tmt. M.N.Pushpa, Curator for Botany of the Museum for her painstaking efforts in bringing out this catalogue.
I hope that this new addition to the list of publication of the Museum will be received both by the experts and interested general public as a useful publication.
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