Department of Botany - Facilities
One of the premier Women's Institutions of Delhi University
Department of Botany
Library: The departmental library has a wide range of books (816) covering various aspects of the syllabus and also topics of contemporary interest. The books are issued to the students as well as faculty for a fortnight. Students are encouraged to borrow the books to widen their knowledge base and also inspire them to take up research.
Museum: The museum maintains a rich collection of preserved specimens displaying plant diversity. The museum is also utilized for conducting some practical and theory classes.
| Specimen | Count |
| Number of specimens preserved in liquid | 313 |
| Number of dried specimens | 120 |
| Number of wood samples in the form of blocks | 28 |
| Number of essential oil samples | 12 |
| Number of decorative items made of wood, cane, coir, coconut shell, jute, other fibres, and clay | 94 |
| Number of charts | 66 |
| Number of framed specimens and photos | 34 |
| Total number of specimens, framed specimens and photos, samples, decorative items and charts | 667 |
Herbarium: The Department also has a well-stacked herbarium having an extensive collection of specimens covering the entire spectrum of plants, collected from various parts of the country and abroad. The number of pressed, preserved and labelled specimens routinely used in practical classes is 1,009 and the specimens collected from Delhi, other parts of India, and abroad is 1,199. The Department also has a very good collection of 1,310 permanent microslides.
Botanical Garden: The Department has a well-maintained botanical garden where plants required routinely for practical classes are grown. These include plants belonging to various families for Economic Botany, Systematics and Genetics such as onion(Allium cepa), fennel(Foeniculum vulgare), coriander(Coriandrum sativum), wheat(Triticum aestivum), rice(Oryza sativa), maize(Zea mays), Sugarcane(Saccharum officinarum), potato(Solanum tuberosum), cotton(Gossypium species), jute(Corchorus species) and mustard(Brassica species). The garden has two ponds to grow aquatic plants to study ecological adaptations. Ferns and mosses are also available for plant diversity classes.
Tissue Culture Facility: The Department has a well-equipped tissue culture laboratory. The facility was set-up under the aegis of a project, 'Molecular basis of unique developmental biology of Podostemads' funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. It is used for carrying out research work under DU Star Innovation Projects, DU Innovation Projects and summer internship programs under DS Kothari Centre for Research and Science Innovation in Science Education, Miranda House. The laboratory has a laminar flow, culture trolley with photoperiodic clock, photomicroscope and fluorescent microscope. Very recently a plant growth chamber, an autoclave, and an air curtain have been added to the research facility in the Department.
Laboratories: There are two well-equipped laboratories for teaching purposes. One is devoted to practicals on Plant Physiology, Metabolism and Ecology and the other to Plant Diversity. The labs are well stocked with sufficient glassware and chemicals to conduct the experiments. The competent laboratory staff make arrangements for the practicals in the preparation room. There is enough space for storing the chemicals, reagents, fixed plant materials, charts and permanent microslides. The laboratory staff undergo on-job training regularly. There is an Undergraduate Research Laboratory where students working on different projects have full access to the lab. The labs have the following instruments required for experiments in the curriculum:
- Binocular microscopes
- Monocular microscopes
- Stereozoom microscopes
- Microscope with image projection system
- Colorimeters
- Spectrophotometer
- Digital balances
- pH meter
- Vertical dual mini electrophoresis systems
- Horizontal mini electrophoresis systems
- Digital luxmeters
- Anemometer
- BOD incubator
- Incubators
- Water baths
- Autoclave
- UV transilluminator
- Microwave
- Refrigerators
- Centrifuges