Plant Taxonomy in India - A Developmental Process

With the development of agriculture in ancient India, plant science took firm roots in our soil. In the Vedic period (2000-800 B.C.), the people of this land cultivated Barley, Cotton, Date, Melon, Millet, Wheat, etc.; a knowledge of descriptive botany and elementary plant physiology was believed to be necessary at that time. If the Vedic literature is studied, one may encounter many terms used in connection with the description of external features and internal structures of plants or plant parts. Moreover, there is a mine of information concerning medicinal plants and their application against diseases. In this very remote age, crop rotation and fertiliser dressing were practised for soil improvement. From the scientific viewpoint, one of the earliest treatises dealing with plant life is Parasara’s Vrikshayurveda. In ancient India, this book fulfilled the requirements of botany preparatory to the study of medicine