Collections
The Herbarium contains a flowering plants collection that dates back to 1816, with over 3,00,000 specimens from all over India. It maintains type materials for about 400 plants which have been identified as new species over a period of time. It holds large alga, fungus, bryophyte, pteridophyte and gymnosperm collections. It also has obtained specimens from regions like Sindh, Arabia, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.
The institute's museum preserves wood, seed and fruit samples of plants with medicinal properties. Pickled specimens of algae, fungi and lichen are also stored in the museum.
The attached library boasts of a copy of the first book printed in India - Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India (1563) by Garcia de Orta. Besides the Hortus Malabaricus (The Gardens of Malabar) by Hendrik van Rheede from 1678, the library contains a compendium of botanical literature and Indian and international journals on botany.
Read more about this topic: Blatter Herbarium
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—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)