Question

Largest Herbarium in India is at
A.National Botanical Garden, Lucknow
B.Lloyd Botanical Garden, Darjeeling
C.Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
D.Indian Botanical Garden, Shibpur

Answer 1

Hint: A herbarium refers to a place where preserved specimens of plants are kept. These preserved specimens provide specific data for conducting scientific research or study. India’s largest herbarium is situated in Kolkata. It was popularly called Company garden and ranges for 273 acres.

Complete answer:A herbarium is a storehouse of thousands of preserved plant specimens that are used by researchers to conduct scientific studies. The specimens are often used to describe plant taxa as they provide references. The specimens are usually stored in dried forms or kept in alcohol-based storage solutions. Most of the specimens are mounted over sheets of paper and some of the specimens based on their physical characters are kept inside the containers.
Herbariums are of various types based on the plant part they are specified to preserve. For example, herbarium specialized for wood sample preservation is called xylarium. A hortorium is also a herbarium specialized to preserve horticultural plant species.
In India, there are various herbariums as India is one of the biodiversity hotspots. The largest herbarium in India is located at Kolkata in Shibpur on the west bank of the river Ganga. It covers around 273 acres of land having thousands of preserved plant specimens and 12,000 living perennial plant species. Historically it was known as The Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden. It was established in the year 1787. The main attraction of the garden is the presence of the second largest canopy in the world formed by the ‘Great Banyan Tree.’
Therefore, the right answer is option D.

Note: The Botanical garden is in fact the largest herbarium in Asia. The ‘Great Banyan Tree’ which is the center of attraction of this garden is 250 years old. The highest branch of the tree touches around 24 meters. Also, the tree is positioned in the Guinness Book of World Records under the category of wonder in the plant kingdom.