Herbarium Fund of the Institute of Botany, Plant Physiology and Genetics, Tajikistan National Academy of Sciences
The herbarium fund of the Institute of botany, physiology and genetics of plants of Institute of Botany, Plant Physiology and Genetics, Tajikistan National Academy of Sciences is created in 1941 and is a unique specialized botanical museum in Tajikistan. The herbarium fund is the richest in the Central Asia a collection of plants from more than 200 000 dried up herbaria’s samples of vascular plants, 28 000 sheets bryophytes, 15 000 samples of lichens, more than 15 000 ecologies samples and the preparations, collected on range territory Pamiro-scarlet (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan) different scientists, since 1876 on 2011 years.
The herbarium fund is unique, not only on riches and history of a collecting of samples of plants where the first plants are collected still 135 years ago by outstanding Russian scientists, but also under the maintenance entering in it various endemic, rare and redskins’ kinds. Now in herbarium fund, collections herbarium samples of the most interesting plants – the rests of ancient relic flora of the Central Asia, i.e. the rests of tertiary flora of region remain.
The number of herbarium only endemic kinds (kinds, which grow only in territory of present Tajikistan and not more any where) makes samples more than 5800 copies herburium sheets of more than 500 kinds of vascular plants. In territory of Tajikistan in comparison with others the countries of the Central Asia the greatest number of kinds of vascular plants (more than 4500 kinds among which 882 kinds are grows endemic plants). For comparison we specify, that the number endemic kinds in Kyrgyzstan makes 321 kind, in Turkmenistan – 325, in Uzbekistan – 366, in Kazakhstan – 550 kinds.
The herbarium fund was created by decades and is a result of laborious work of many generations botanists of Tajikistan and at the present stage represents the invaluable fixed genofunds more than 9 thousand kinds both sporous, and vascular plants Pamiro-Alai. Many years the herbarium fund served as object of bioecological education and propagation of achievements of a botanical science in the field of taxonomy (specific structure and regular structure of flora), systematization and principles of differentiation of the higher tacsons flora of Tajikistan.
The herbarium fund of Institute of botany, physiology and genetics of plants of Academy of sciences of Republic Tajikistan is the unique and very valuable storehouse containing the richest actual material or vouchers of the diverse kinds of plants of our natural flora. For acquaintance with various representatives of rich natural flora of Tajikistan and as a whole Pamiro-Alai only for years of the State independence of our country, in the herbarium fund has visited tens colleagues and a number of delegations from many countries of the world (the USA, Canada, Germany, Poland, Japan, China, Czech a, Russia, Ukraine, etc.).
With the collection fund of locale plants of Flore keeping in the herbarium fund was introducing famous Scientifics of the all world. Here without collection of different kind of plants, the botanists can introducing with morfo- biologists of characteristics of the plant samples aborigine Flores for compare its with analogous characteristics other representatives of others Flores of the World.
The herbarium fund yes and will be stay the objects for conducting of lectures and education center for students and schoolchildren in the future.
There till today was conducting hundreds of excursions and training courses.
Now the herbarium fund of Institute again systematization, newing and additions with news samples for visits of scientists, students, hosts, tourists and others visitors of lives of nature, gene recourses and needed kind of Pamiro- Alay region Flore of Central Asia in Tajikistan.