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Environmental diorama
The environmental show-case exhibited in the Economic Botany Gallery shows and
explains how the plants are adapted to live in the natural habitat in an area; the environment
provides the biological habitats for many plant species and it also paves the way for the
natural ecosystem, which is useful for the study of the interaction among different organisms
with their physical environments like earth's climate, soil, rocks, water and atmosphere.
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Toys
From the
very early times, toys were used as objects of amusement for children. The excavation at
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa brought to light a few toys. Wood is one of the materials used for
toys in many parts of India. In many centres of South India, wooden toy industry has been
carried on traditionally and it has been the main occupation for a number of families.
Vellore, Kondapalli and Tirupati are the main centres of toy making. The themes for
these toys are drawn from Hindu religion and mythology. Besides the religious themes, the
products of this old industry also include the models of animals, birds, human beings, house
etc. For most of the toys, the craftsmen of Tirupati makes use of red wood; the colour of the
wood itself serves as colour for the toys.
Exhibited in the toys
show-case is the Kondapalli toys, made from the wood of 'Wrightia tinctoria'. Toys made
of sandalwood and also lacquered toys are also kept on display.
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Gyrocarpus
americanus
A tall deciduous tree. It belongs
to the family 'Combretaceae'. Distributed in South India up to an altitude of 1,000', also in
the Malay peninsula, the Andaman islands and through out the tropics of the whole world. The
wood is grey, soft very light and is more extensively used for toys, imitation fruits, carved
figures, school models, combs, trays, boxes and furniture. It is specially suitable for
catamarans and paddles. Sample of the wood and the articles made out of it are kept on display
in the 'Toys' show-case of the Economic Botany Gallery.
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Beverage
'Beverages' that contain
'caffeine' are useful all over the world, for their stimulating and refreshing qualities. As
in the case of the cereals each of the ancient centres of agriculture and civilisation had its
own beverage plant. Coffee, which originated in regions adjacent to South-western Asia, is now
used by one third of the world's population. Tea, which is associated in South-eastern Asia,
is used by one half of the population of the world. Cocoa, a product of tropical America,
today serves both as food and drink for over five hundred million people. 'Cola' is another
favourite beverage, which has come into wide vogue in soft drinks recently.
In this show-case the cocoa fruit is kept as
wet specimen, along with tea adulterants.
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Theobroma cacao
Cocoa / Chocolate tree
This plant is a member of
Angiosperm; it is a tree species, belonging to the family 'Sterculiaceae'. Occurs in temperate
region. It is a branched erect tree and it grows very short. It bears long leaves. The trunk
and the larger branches of the tree bear flowers and fruits on short stalks. The fruits
contain several large seeds, which are used for the preparation of non-alcoholic beverages and
chocolate. This specimen is displayed in the form of wet collection in the Beverage show-case
of the Economic Botany Gallery.
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Economic
Botany