Taxonomy Work

“Our efforts to conserve vegetation inspire us to repeat them again!”

Herbal Research Division is constantly working to explore India’s vibrant plant diversity. The vision to conserve plants and to convey their distinct identity has been the core idea behind our activities. For this purpose, the department has established a plant Taxonomy Laboratory and the Patanjali Research Foundation Herbarium (PRFH). The Taxonomy sub-division has voyaged across India to collect, identify, and study flora that will benefit the collective knowledge of the world’s botanical space. Thus, the idea of sustaining our vegetation’s valuable existence lives through our team of world-renowned scientists.

The department has published numerous books and shared exclusive vegetation details after their surveys, namely:

• Flora of Morni Hills (Research & Possibilities)
• मोरनी हिल्स के महत्वपूर्ण औषधीय पादप
• Vegetation Survey of Morni Hills, Panchkula, Haryana
• Flora of Seijosa, Pakke-Kessang District, Arunachal Pradesh
• Flora of Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, India

Following our successful research expedition to the places mentioned above, various new plant species were discovered in different states of India. This newly reported flora is a huge achievement not only for students of Botany but also for plant-based natural healing systems.

The plants found are as follows:

New Plants Record for India

• Premna micrantha Schauer
• Sterculia euosma W.W. Smith
• Brassaiopsis ficifolia Dunn

New Plants Record for Northeast India

• Lasianthus jackianus Wight
• Uvaria lamponga Scheff.
• Archidendron ellipticum (Blume) I.C. Nielsen

New Plants Record for Delhi

• Myosoton aquaticum (L.) Moench.

New Plants Record for Uttarakhand

• Corchorus pseudo-olitorius Islam & Zaid
• Solanum diphyllum L.

New Plants Record for Haryana

• Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass.
• Ajuga macrosperma Wall. ex Benth.
• Ampelocissus divaricata (Wall. ex Lawson) Planch.
• Blumea laevis (Lour.) Merr.
• Blumea oxyodonta DC.
• Buddleja crispa Benth.
• Capillipedium parviflorum (R.Br.) Stapf
• Cardamine impatiens L.
• Centratherum punctatum Cass.
• Cerastium glomeratum Thuill.
• Chamaecrista mimosoides (L.) Greene
• Chrysopogon aciculatus (Retz.) Trin.
• Cotoneaster microphyllus Wall. ex Lindl.
• Cyclospermum leptophyllum (Pers.) Sprague ex Britton & P. Wilson
• Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf
• Cyperus odoratus L.
• Desmodium rotundifolium Baker
• Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.
• Dioscorea alata L.
• Dipcadi serotinum (L.) Medik.
• Drymaria cordata (L.) Willd. ex Schult.
• Ehretia aspera Roxb.
• Ficus lacor Buch.-Ham.
• Ficus subincisa Buch.-Ham. ex Sm.
• Fimbristylis aphylla Steud.
• Fragaria nubicola (Lindl. ex Hook.f.) Lacaita
• Galactia tenuiflora (Klein ex Willd.) Wight & Arn.
• Ipomoea hederifolia L.
• Lepidagathis cristata Willd.
• Lespedeza thunbergii (DC.) Nakai
• Leucas chinensis (Retz.) Sm.
• Malva neglecta Wallr.
• Mecardonia procumbens (Mill.) Small
• Melinis repens (Willd.) Zizka
• Moringa concanensis Nimmo
• Ocimum gratissimum L.
• Oenothera rosea L’Hér. ex Aiton
• Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxb.
• Papaver dubium L.
• Pennisetum hohenackeri Hochst. ex Steud.
• Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin.
• Pentanema cernuum (Dalzell) Ling
• Potentilla fragarioides L.
• Prinsepia utilis Royle
• Remusatia vivipara (Roxb.) Schott
• Salix acmophylla Boiss.
• Setaria palmifolia (J.Koenig) Stapf
• Sibbaldia micropetala (D.Don) Hand.-Mazz.
• Striga densiflora (Benth.) Benth.
• Syzygium salicifolium (Wight) J. Graham
• Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T.Anderson
• Ventilago denticulata Willd.
• Viola odorata L.

New Plants Record for Arunachal Pradesh

• Acacia gageana Craib
• Paederia cruddasiana Prain
• Endospermum chinense Benth.
• Allaeanthus kurzii Hook.f.
• Ardisia grandifolia A.DC.
• Derris marginata (Roxb.) Benth.
• Gomphostemma crinitum Wall. Ex Benth.
• Memecylon cerasiforme Kurz
• Morinda coreia Buch.-Ham.
• Nekemias rubifolia (Wall.) J.Wen & Z.L.Nie
• Sterculia lanceifolia Roxb.
• Cynanchum corymbosum Wight
• Ficus geocarpa Teijsm. ex Miq. (Second time reported for India, from Arunachal Pradesh)

After introducing you to the newly informed plants, it becomes vital to unveil our two centers of discovery.

Plant Taxonomy Laboratory

The Plant Taxonomy Laboratory uses modern phylogenetic classification to collect and identify plants. Furthermore, it also prepares the herbarium for the future studies of plants and for assembling flora in one place for students and researchers.

The pre-herbarium process includes field activities spread across floral hotspots in India. Our scientists also indulge in courses, projects, outreach initiatives, documentation, and preservation of specimens. To complement our efforts, we have amassed technically superior equipment like a dissecting microscope, binocular microscope with camera, camera lucida, Stereomicroscope with optic light, plant press, and herbarium dryer.

Our herbarium is a collection of distinct medicinal plants with rare Astavarga plants named Jeevak [Malaxis acuminata D. Don], Rishbhak [Malaxis muscifera (Lind.) Kuntze], Meda [Polygonatum verticillatum (L.) All.], Mahameda [Polygonatum cirrhifolium (Wall.) Royle], Ridhi [Habenaria intermedia D. Don], Vridhi [Habenaria acuminata (Thwaites) Trimen], Kakoli [Roscoea purpurea Sm.] and Kshirkakoli [Lilium polyphyllum D. Don.].

Plant Ecology Laboratory

The Plant Ecology Laboratory conducts the ecological study of medicinal plants with species emphasis on microclimatic analysis, soil analysis, phytosociological study, biomass, and productivity analysis. This laboratory is well equipped with sophisticated analytical equipment such as Anemometers, Clinometers, Electronic balance, Cyclomixer, Global Position System (GPS), Hygrometer, Water bath, Distill water unit, Luxmeter, Microtome, pH meter, BOD Incubator, Autoclave, etc.