Abbottabad is an important town of the Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. The city is famous for its scenic beauty, moderate climate and educational institutions. Northern areas of Pakistan are blessed with a variety of unique plants.
Many among them are mentioned in Flora of Pakistan and at the same time a very large number is yet to be explored/ reported. Abbottabad is actually a gateway to Northern Areas of Pakistan. Previously, Karakuram Highway and now CPEC(China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) passes through this important city. Similarly, Himalayas, Hindukush, and Karakuram are the important mountain ranges of Northern areas of Pakistan.
Government Post Graduate College No. 1 is situated in the heart of city and occupies and a central attractive location in the city. The Herbarium was established in Department of Botany in 1990 when students started depositing Herbarium specimens as a mandatory requirement for the completion of their B.Sc and M.Sc Degrees in Botany.
The collection included almost all plant groups like Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms and Fungi. Initially due to lack of resources and shortage of proper space, the maintenance became a huge challenge, even then the staff and students worked hard for the uplift of Herbarium and the number of specimens reached to more than 10,000 in fifteen years time.
Unfortunately, in October 2005 the country experienced a devastating earthquake of the history that left many people dead / homeless and causing huge damage to infrastructure. Some of the important cities like Balakot, Muzaffarabad, Mansehra, Battgram, Kohistan and Abbottabad were adversely affected by the earthquake. The Herbarium of Botany Department also suffered damages. At this critical moment, the concerned people felt a need for the revival of this asset as it was the only and oldest Herbarium of the whole region. After few years the Department was shifted to the newly constructed BS Block funded by the Saudi Government through ERRA(Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency). Once again the staff and students took a fresh start by reorganizing the leftover specimens and collecting new specimens with the same spirit and enthusiasm.
Due to these sincere and combined efforts the number of Herbarium specimens has now reached to more than 5000 in the year 2022 and this number is increasing with every passing day. At the same time, in this age of information technology and to cope with future challenges particularly in the field of Plant Sciences a need was felt for registration/ digitization of Herbarium so as to establish a link with the world for mutual benefits of teachers and students. By doing so, the people all around the world can access our Herbarium specimens for floristic study of the Pakistan in general and of the region in particular. This will be among one of the very few registered/ digitized Herbaria of Pakistan. The credit of this endeavor goes to the Principal, Department Teachers, Department Students and Department Lab Staff.
CHAIRMANÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Department of Botany