1. Research library & Documentation

   The institute has its inhouse library, good collection of books, journals & reports etc. on fisheries and allied subjects.

    

2. Herbarium library 

   PFRC will strive for plant research and conservation by 

1. Undertaking intensive floristic surveys and collecting accurate and detailed information on the occurrence, distribution, ecology and economic utility of plants in the country
2. Collecting, identifying and distributing materials that may be of use to educational and research institutions
3. Acting as the custodian of authentic collections in well planned herbaria and documenting plant resources in the form of local, district, state and national flora.

 

The function will be accompolished by following two steps as:-

 

Primary

• Exploration, inventorization and documentation of phytodiversity (including non-flowering plants) in India; publication of National, State and District Floras.
• Identification of Red list species and species rich areas needing conservation; ex situ conservation of critically threatened taxa in botanical gardens.
• Survey and documentation of traditional knowledge (ethnobotany) associated with plants.
• Develop National database of Indian plants, including herbarium specimens, live specimens, botanical paintings, illustrations, etc.

 

Secondary

• Revisionary/Monographic studies on selected plant groups.
• Capacity building in plant taxonomy through refresher courses and post M.Sc. certificate course.
• Environment Impact Assessment of areas assigned to BSI for study.
• Develop and maintain Botanical Gardens, Museum and Herbaria.
• Preparation of Seed, Pollen and Spore Atlas of Indian Plants.

 

Digitising the Herbarium

Our Herbarium holds vast quantities of data still to be unlocked. That’s why we’re embarking on a large-scale project to digitise the collection and make the data freely available online to anyone, anywhere. 

 

Digitisation and digital innovation will allow data sharing of images and data to countries of origin, while helping scientists around the world conserve plants and find solutions to some of the most critical challenges facing humanity, for example the next generation of climate-resilient crops. 

 

About this collection

The Herbarium is a collection of dried plant specimens that are stored, catalogued, and arranged by family, genus and species for study. With over seven million specimens, Kew’s Herbarium collection is one of the largest in the world. It is an unrivalled evidence base that underpins our scientific research. 

 

Each specimen is an immense source of information that can tell us what plants look like; where they are found; what environmental niche they occupy; which species are threatened with extinction; what morphological and chemical variation occurs; and, when they flower or produce seed. We can even extract DNA from them to study relationships and evolutionary processes.

 

Individual plants (or parts of plants) are preserved and cared for over time so that current and future generations can identify plants, study biodiversity and use the collection in support of conservation, ecology and sustainable development.