Question

Which of the following is not a correct statement?
(A) Herbarium houses dried, pressed and preserved plant specimen
(B) Botanical gardens have collection of living plants for reference
(C) A museum has collection of photographs of plants and animals
(D) Key is a taxonomic aid for identification of specimens

Answer 1

Hint: Preservation, collection and study of specimens are important practices which are useful in providing important information about various types of specimens along with their unique and distinct features. It gives a valuable insight about the characteristics of the specimen that is preserved or treated to preserve.

Complete answer:
The different practices that are used for preservation, collection and maintaining different species of plants or animals are important practices to study the concerned organism. The specimens that are preserved or treated in such a way that important information related to its diversity, morphological details as well as distinctive details can be studied. The preservation of species or specimens are done in a verifiable form which serves as the evidence of existence of the particular species. There are several practices to prepare specimens and reserving them for future references. Some of the practices of preserving plants are herbarium, museum collection or botanical collections and preparation of well documented keys.

> Option A:
A herbarium is a vital resource for research on biodiversity, ecology and growth. It is a primary source of data for dried and numbered plant specimens, organized to enable easy access to and storage of records. They provide important repositories for various data which can be also made available for future references.

> Option B:
Botanical gardens are places where plants of various varieties both exotic and indigenous, are grown for research, educational and ornamental use. The specimens in a botanical garden are allowed to thrive in the most possible natural conditions.

> Option C:
The museum is usually a collection of animals that are dead and preserved. Modern museums are built for the collection, preservation, presentation and exhibition of items that have an artistic, cultural or science relevance to public education.

Option D:
Key is used for the detection of unknown species by biologists. Keys are designed such that a number of decisions about the features of unknown species are posed to the user and the user is eventually guided to the identity of a specimen by making a right choice at each stage of the key.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: Museums are specialized institutions that are entrusted to conservation of collection of several artifacts, of cultural, historical as well as scientific importance. There are a variety of roles of museums, including depicting the history of the introduction of organisms and preservation of items. The main purpose of the museum is the preservation, collection, study as well as display of various artifacts not just only photographs of different specimens. The museum serves as a center for education related to various information contained in the collected specimens.