Taxonomical Aids

• Taxonomy is the branch of biology that deals with identification, naming, and classification of organisms.
• Taxonomical aids are the procedures and techniques used to store and preserve information as well as specimens of various plants and animals.
• These help in identification, naming, and classification of the organisms.

 

• Herbarium
• It is the storehouse of collected plant specimens.
• Collected plant specimens are dried, pressed, and preserved on sheets and then arranged systematically according to the universally accepted system of classification.
• Herbarium sheet contains label regarding date, place of the collection, scientific name, family, collector’s name, etc. of the specimen.

 

• Botanical gardens
• It has the collection of living plant species that are grown for identification and reference.
• Each plant contains labels indicating their scientific name and family. Some famous
• Botanical gardens are Indian Botanical Garden, Calcutta (largest in India), Royal Botanical Garden, Kew (largest in world till date), and National Botanical Research Institute.

 

• Museum
• It is the repository that has a collection of various plant and animal specimens that are preserved for study and reference.
• The organisms are preserved either in preservative solution or in the form of dry specimens.
• It often has collection of skeletons of animal also.

 

 

• Zoological parks
• Wild animals are kept in protected environments.
• Provides opportunity for studying the behavior and food habits of the animals

 

• Key
• Keys are used for identification of plants and animals based on similarities and dissimilarities.
• Manuals, monographs, and catalogues are other means of recording descriptions.
• Manuals help in the identification of names of various species of organisms in a given area.
• Monograph is a detailed and well-documented work on any particular taxon.