BOTANY DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

One of the oldest department of Botany in Tamil Nadu state(73 years)

Offers best training in plant sciences at under-graduate, post-graduate and research levels

Focus on research for more than four decades

Areas such as gravitropism, plant histochemistry, plant growth regulator studies, seed physiology and paleophytology were given importance during 80s and 90s. Currently students of post graduate degree course and students joined for their M.Phil degree programs are trained in  palynology, algology, genetics and molecular biology, plant tissue culture and angiosperm taxonomy

Field based studies for algae and angiosperm taxonomy

Offers consultancy in algae and flowering plants identification and in medicinal plants

Professor Dr.P.Dayanandan (Retd.) has received the best teacher award (1995), from government of Tamil Nadu.

Research collaborations with institutes such as M.S.Swaminathan research foundation, Chennai; International ocean institute; IIT campus, Chennai; Queen’s university-Canada; foundation for revitalization of local health traditions-Bangalore; centre for plants, people and ecosystems, Chennai and C.P.Ramaswami Iyer Environmental Education Research centre, Chennai.

New species and new varieties in plant, fossils, algae and flowering plants have been described by the staff of the department. 

New species of plants described by Dr.D.Narasimhan and his students:

1.Polycarpaea corymbosa (L.) Lam. var. longipetala Sriniv. & D. Naras.
2.Premna latifolia Roxb. var. henryi  D. Naras. 3.Anoectochilus narasimhanii  Sumathi, Jayanthi, Karthig. & Sreek
4.Orophea narasimhanii Karthig., Sumathi & Jayanthi

New taxa of algae described by Dr.M..Baluswami:

  1. Giffordia andamanensis Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1983)
  2. Giffordia bhimlipatnamensis  Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1983)
  3. Giffordia mitchelliae (Harvey) Hamel var. neilii Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1983)
  4. Giffordia clavata Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1983)
  5. Giffordia prolifera Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1983)
  6. Feldmannia kanyakumariensis Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1983)
  7. Porphyra kanyakumariensis Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1984)
  8. Porphyra indica Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1984)
  9. Sphacelaria kovalamensis Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (1988)
  10. Sirodotia iyengarii Baluswami and Babu (1999)
  11. Batrachospermum umamaheswararaoi Baluswami and Babu (1999)

12. Draparnaldiopsis krishnamurthyi Baluswami and Rajasekaran (2000)

New combinations made:

1. Lobophora indica (Umamaheswara Rao) Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (2000)

2. Lobophora minima (Umamaheswara Rao) Krishnamurthy and Baluswami (2000)

New taxa reported to occur in India for the first time:

 1. Bornetella nitida (Harv.) Munier-Chalmas (M.Baluswami, A.K.S.K.Prasad, V.Krishnamurthy and T.V. Desikachary,  1982)

 2. Mesospora schmidtii Weber van Bosse  (Krishnamurthy and Baluswami 1986)

 3. Tuomeya americana (Kuetzing) Papenfuss (Babu and Baluswami, 2005)

 4.Thorea hispida (Thore) Desvaux emend. Sheath, Vis et Cole (. Dhanalakshmi, Babu, Nicodesmus, Nagarajan and Baluswami 2010)

Three new species Anoectochilus narasimhanii, Orophea narasimhanii and Trachys narasimhanii P.Ravichandran  have been discovered by researchers trained in this department.

A comprehensive Pollen atlas for Chennai has been prepared by Prof. H.K.P.Devadoss (HOD) which is referred by allergy specialists in Chennai.

Students of this department are recognized for their knowledge and training in Botany and are recruited in Universities, colleges, Non-governmental research organizations in India and research institutes abroad.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:

Department has aquired a carl zeiss digital photomicrographic facility which has been housed in the "Digital Imaging Facility" and a  new Leica DM 2500 Fluorescence Research Microscope with DFC 450 C Digital Camera is to installed shortly.

Department of Biotechnology under the “Star college scheme” has aided the Botany Department for equipment and consumables. This initiative is to impart scientific knowledge through use of equipments and tools by under-graduate students. We are sure that this initiative will produce young research minds with good practical training. Apart from analyzing and other modern equipments housed in the  'instrumentation' room specially renovated for this purpose. A state of the art culturing facility for studying algal biology and algal biotechnology has  been commissioned, using the DBT star college funding. Students will be trained in isolation, identification and culturing of algae under the supervision of Dr.M.Baluswami.


Dr.D.Narasimhan Associate Professor of our department is the principal investigator of the “species recovery” project. Under the project two threatened and endangered species will be mapped, micro propagated and introduced in their habitat and elsewhere. Apart from this histochemical and cytogenetic investigation and analysis using microscopic techniques would be carried out. A lab with modern facilities and shade house has been commissioned to investigate and produce plantlets.


Department of Science and Technology has approved FIST proposal from our college and has sanctioned a considerable amount for improving teaching and research facilities in the department. By this DST-FIST program the department has already procured a number of teaching and research equipments which are going to be used for students from the academic year 2014-2015.

The following are some of the important equipments purchased through DST-FIST program:

  • Leica DM 2500 Fluorescence Research Microscope with DFC 450 C Digital Camera
  • Mastercycler nexus SX1, 230 V/50-60 Hz
  • Spectrophotometer Lab India UV 3000 Double beam
  • Rotary vaccum evaporator
  • BOD incubator
  • 60 nos of Hanslab Compound Microscopes with inbuilt lamp
  • Portable autoclaves
  • Autoclave vertical 2 KW & digital control
  • Laminar Air Flow chambers and many more.

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