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12th Bio – Botany & Botany

1. Scourge of water bodies /Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive weed on water bodies like ponds,
lakes and reservoirs. It is popularly called “Terror of Bengal”. It spreads rapidly through off set all over the water
body and depletes the dissolved oxygen and causes death of other aquatic organisms.
2. Many botanists speak of a third type of tapetum called amoeboid, where the cell wall is not lost. The cells protrude
into the anther cavity through an amoeboid movement. This type is often associated with male sterility and should
not be confused with periplasmodial type.
Bee pollen is a natural substance and contains high protein, carbohydrate, trace amount of minerals and vitamins.
Therefore, it is used as dietary supplement and is sold as pollen tablets and syrups. Further , it increases the
performance of athletes, race horses and also heals the wounds caused by burns . The study of honey pollen is called
Mellitopalynology.
3. Palynology is the study of pollen [Link] helps to identify the distribution of coal and to locate oil fields. Pollen
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grains reflect the vegetation of an area. Liquid nitrogen (-196 C) is used to preserve pollen in viable condition for
prolonged duration. This technique is called cryopreservation and is used to store pollen grains (pollen banks) of
economically important crops for breeding programmes.
4. Pollen calendar shows the production of pollen by plants during different seasons. This benefits the allergic
persons. Pollen grains cause allergic reactions like asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, allergic rhinitis etc.,
5. Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Family- Asteraceae) is commonly called Carrot grass is a native of tropical America
and was introduced into India as a contaminant along with cereal wheat. The pollen of this plant cause Allergy.
6. Pollination – A composite event : Pollination provides informationaboutevolution, ecology, animal learning and
foraging behaviour. Flowers not only supply nectar but also provide microclimate, site and shelter for egg laying
insects. The association of insects benefits the flower by getting pollinated and ensures the propagation of its own
progeny. The floral parts are well modified in shape, size to attract the pollinators to accomplish pollination The
relationship between Yucca and moth (Tegeticula yuccasella) is an example for obligate mutualism. The moth bores
a hole in the ovary of the flower and lays eggs in it. Then it collects pollen and pushes it in the form of balls down
the hollow end of the stigma. Fertilization takes place and seeds develop. Larvae feed on developing seeds. Some
seeds remain unconsumed for the propagation of the plant species. It is interesting that the moth cannot survive
without Yucca flowers and the plant fails to reproduce sexually without the moth. Similarly in Amorphophallus,
flowers apart from providing floral rewards, also forms safe site for laying eggs. Many visitors consume pollen and
nectar and do not help in pollination. They are called pollen / nectar robbers. In Bee orchid (Ophyrus) the
morphology of the flower mimics that of female wasp (Colpa). The male wasp mistakes the flowers for a female
wasp and tries to copulate. This act of pseudocopulation helps in polli nation. The pollination in Fig (Ficus carica)
by the Wasp (Blastophaga psenes) is also an example for similar Plant – insect interaction.
7. Obturator may originate from different regions of the ovule (Placenta – Euphorbiaceae, Funiculus- Anacardiaceae,
Style–Thymelaeaceae and Ovary wall – Ottelia alismoides)
8. Aleurone tissue consists of highly specialised cells of one or few layers which are found around the endosperm of
cereals (barley and maize). Aleurone grain contains sphaerosomes. During seed germination cells secrete certain
hydrolytic enzymes like amylases, proteases which digest reserved food material present in the endosperm cells.
9. Coconut milk is a basic nutrient medium which induces the differentiation of embryo (embryoids) and plantlets
from various plant tissues. Coconut water from tender coconut is free-nuclear endosperm and white kernel part is
cellular.
10. Fresh weight of an orchid seed may be 20.33 microgram and that of double coconut (Lodoicea maldivica) is about
6 kg.
11. Does environment play a role on sex determination in plants? Yes. Horsetail plant (Equisetum) grown under
good conditions develop as female and those grown under stress condition develop into males.
12. Plants are sessile. How do they protect themselves from the exposure of sunlight throughout the day? Plants
have effective DNA repair mechanism to prevent UV damage from sunlight. They produce an enzyme called
photolyase, which can repair the thymine dimers and restore the structure of DNA.
13. Internal methylation - Apart from capping, the internal nucleotides in mRNA are also methylated. Methylated
sites are present in translated, untranslated regions, introns and exons.
14. Barcode: You might have seen in all books barcoding and also in items you buy in supermarket. This will reveal
the identity of the book or item as well the details like prize. Similarily, Barcode in genetic term refer to the identify
of the taxon based on its genetic makeup. In practice, it is an optical, machine-readable representation of data which
describes about the characters of any plants or any objects.
15. Applied ecology or environmental technology : Application of the Science of ecology is otherwise called as
Applied ecology or Environmental technology. It helps us to manage and conserve natural resources, particularly
ecosystems, forest and wild life conservative and management. Environmental management involves Bio-diversity

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 conservation, Ecosystem restoration, Habitat management, Invasive species management, Protected areas
management and also help us plan landscapes and environmental impact designing for the futuristic ecology.
16. Flowers of poppy, chicory, dog rose and many other plants, blossom before the break of dawn (4 – 5 am), evening
primrose open up with the onset of dusk (5 – 6 pm) due to diurnal rhythm.
17. Palaeo climatology –Helps to reconstruct past climates of our planet and flora, fauna and ecosystem in which they
lived. Example: Air bubbles trapped in ice for tens of thousands of years with fossilized pollen, coral, plant and
animal debris.
18. Evergreen forests – Found where heavy rainfall occurs throughout the year.
19. Sclerophyllous forests –Found where heavy rainfall occurs during winter and low rainfall during summer.
20. Green House Effect Albedo Effect - Gases let out to atmosphere causes climatic change. Emission of dust and
aerosols (small solids or liquid particles in suspension in the atmosphere) from industries, automobiles, forest fire,
So2 and DMS (dimethyl sulphur) play an important role in disturbing the temperature level of any region. Aerosols
with small particles is reflecting the solar radiation entering the atmosphere. This is known as Albedo effect. So it
reduces the temperature (cooling) limits, photosynthesis and respiration. The sulphur compounds are responsible
for acid rain due to acidification of rain water and destroy the ozone.
21. Proto Cooperation - An interaction between organisms of different species in which both organisms benefit but
neither is dependent on the relationship. Example: Soil bacteria / fungi and plants growing in the soil.
22. Kairomone released from Pieris rapae caterpillar exposed to wild Radish gets the capacity to transmit defence
induced by predator to progeny of wild radish. Transmission capacity of defence induced by predator to progeny of
wild radish.
23. Mangrove forest - Out of three districts of Tamil Nadu (Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur), Muthupet
(Thiruvarur district) was less damaged by Gaja cyclone ( November 2018) due to the presence of mangrove forest.
Types of Carbon
24. Green carbon – carbon stored in the biosphere (by the process of photosynthesis).
25. Grey carbon – carbon stored in fossil fuel (coal, oil and biogas deposits in the lithosphere).
26. Blue carbon – carbon stored in the atmosphere and oceans.
27. Brown carbon – carbon stored in industrialized forests (wood used in making commercial articles)
28. Black carbon – carbon emitted from gas, diesel engine and coal fired power plants.
29. Limnology It is the study of biological, chemical, physical and geological components of inland fresh water aquatic
ecosystems (ponds, lakes, etc.).
30. Oceanography – It is the study of biological, chemical, physical and geological components of ocean.
31. Sea grasses and mangroves of Estuarine and coastal ecosystems are the most efficient in carbon sequestration.
Hence, these ecosystems are called as “ Blue carbon ecosystems”. They are not properly utilized and maintained
all over the world although they have rich bioresources potential.
32. Robert Constanza and his colleagues estimated the value of global ecosystem services based on various
parameters. According to them in 1997, the average global value of ecosystems services estimated was US $ 33
trillion a year. The updated estimate for the total global ecosystem services in 2011 is US $ 125 trillion / year,
indicating a four-fold increase in ecosystem services from 1997 to 2011.
33. Ecosystem resilience - Ecosystem is damaged by disturbances from fire, flood, predation, infection, drought, etc.,
removing a great amount of biomasss. However, ecosystem is endowed with the ability to resist the damage and
recover quickly. This ability of ecosystem is called ecosystem resilience or ecosystem robustness.
34. Go green - It refers to the changing of one’s lifestyle for the safety and benefits of the environments (Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle) Way to go green and save green
• Close the tap when not in use.
• Switch off the electrical gadgets when not in use.
• Never use plastics and replace them with biodegradable products
• Always use ecofriendly technology and products.
“USE ECOSYSTEM BUT DON’T LOSE ECOSYSTEM; MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE”
35. "By 2025, at least 3.5 billion people, nearly 50% of the world’s population are projected to face water scarcity." –
IUCN.
36. "Forests house approximately 50% of global bio-diversity and at least 300 million people are dependent on forest’s
goods and services to sustain their livelihood." – IUCN
37. Grasslands created and maintained by human are called anthropogenic grasslands.
38. Existence of two climax communities under the influence of same climatic conditions are found in higher mountain
hill tops, above 7000 feet MSL (Mean sea level) of Nilgiris. Example: Sholas and grasslands.
39. Clouds and Dust particles can also produce Green House effect. That is why clouds, dusts and humid nights are
warmer than clear dust free dry nights.
40. Nitrates from fertilizers interact with the haemoglobin to form methyl haemoglobin. This reduces oxygen uptake,
results in Blue baby syndrome (cyanosis) and hypoxia. Nitrates vasodilate and reduce blood pressure.
41. Bio-magnification: Pollutants, toxic substances increase in water move from one food chain to many and finally
reach human being and this process of bio-amplification or increase in concentration is called bio-magnification.

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42. Indian Plant Breeders
a. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan – He is pioneer mutation breeder.
b. Sir. T.S. Venkataraman – An eminent sugarcane breeder.
c. Dr. B.P. Pal – Famous wheat breeder, developed superior disease resistant varieties of wheat.
d. Dr. K. Ramiah – Eminent rice breeder, developed several high yielding varieties of rice.
e. N.G.P. Rao – An eminent sorghum breeder, developed world’s first hybrid of Sorghum (CSH-1).
f. C.T. Patel – Who developed world’s first cotton hybrid.
g. Choudhary Ram Dhan – Wheat breeder, who is famous for C-591 variety of wheat, which is made Punjab as
wheat granary of India.
43. National Bureau of plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) The Bureau is responsible for introduction and
maintenance of germ plasm of various agricultural and horticultural station in our country. It is also responsible for
maintenance of plant materials of botanical and medicinal interest. It is located at Rangpuri, New Delhi and has
four regional plant quarantine stations at Amristsar, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai at Meenambakkam
44. Gamma Garden or Atomic Garden: Is a form of mutation breeding where plants are exposed to radioactive
sources typically cobalt-60 or caesium-137 in order to generate desirable mutation in crop plants. The first Gamma
garden in India is Bose Research Institute at Calcutta in 1959 and the second is IARI in 1960 which produced large
variation in short type.
45. NORIN 10 – The cultivars found that Norin 10 dwarfing genes have high photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area and
increase respiratory activity. Gonjiro Inazuka selected the semi-dwarf wheat variety that became Norin 10. He
would have never thought that the semi dwarf genes would not only revolutionize the world of wheat but also
helped to save more than one billion lives from hunger and starvation.
46. Nanotechnology in Agriculture: Currently nanotechnology provides different nano devices and nano material that
have a unique role in agriculture. For example Nano biosensors to detect moisture content and nutrient status in the
soil. Nanotechnology can offer Nano-fertilizers for efficient nutrient management, Nano-herbicides for selective
weed control in crop field, Nanonutrient particles to increase seed vigor, Nano-pesticides for efficient pest
management. Hence, nanotechnology have greater role in crop production with environmental safety, ecological
sustainability and economic stability.
47. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) - International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is located in Los
Banos, Manila the capital city of Philippines. This is the only institute in the world which exclusively carries out
research as on rice. IRRI aims to improve livelihoods and nutrition, abolishing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.
Whatever IR rice varieties available in the world are developed through rice breeding programme and released by
IRRI. Till date IRRI has produced 843 rice varieties that have been released in 77 countries. IR8 is a high-yielding
semi-dwarf rice variety developed by IRRI in the early 1960s and it is called as miracle rice, much celebrated for
fighting famine. Another variety to mention is IR36 which is a semi-dwarf variety that proved highly resistant to a
number of insect pests and diseases that raised farmers’ rice yields and brought down the prices of the staple food
in Asian families. The International Rice Gene bank of IRRI has a collection of more than 117 000 types of rice,
comprising of modern and traditional varieties including wild relatives of Paddy.
48. PSEUDO-CEREAL - The term pseudo-cereal is used to describe foods that are prepared and eaten as a whole
grain, but are botanical outliers from grasses. Example: quinoa. It is actually a seed from the Chenopodium quinoa
plant belongs to the family Amaranthaceae. It is a gluten-free, whole-grain carbohydrate, as well as a whole protein
(meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids) and have been eaten for 6,000 years in Andes hill region.
49. Why do popcorn pops? Endosperm in corn consists of two type namely soft and hard. In popcorn soft endosperm
constitutes most part of the grain surrounded by thin layer of hard endosperm. When heated, the internal starch and
protein are converted into gelatinous substances and when pressure mount further, the soft endosperm expands and
explodes reversing the grain and the gelatinous starch are converted into foam, which readily solidifies outside and
convert into crispy, tasty popcorn.
50. Capsaicin is responsible for the pungency or spicy taste of chillies. Pungency of Chillies is measured in Scoville
Heat Units (SHU). World’s hottest chilli, Carolina reaper pepper measures 2,200,000 SHU. Naga viper chilli is the
hottest in India that measures 1,349,000 SHU. Commonly used cayenne pepper measures 30,000 to 50,000 SHU.
51. Sambar – The World Inside - When we see the bowl of sambar, we can see the world inside. Mustard, Cumin
and Coriander from Mediterranean, pepper from Western Ghats of India, turmeric from Southern Asia, chilly from
South America, onion from Afganisthan, tamarind from Tropical Africa, tomato from South America, potato from
Peru and Bolivia, lady’s-finger from Africa, and redgram from South India make the Sambar as a global dish.
52. Rubber – Vulcanization - Charles Goodyear invented vulcanization in 1839. He found that the defects in rubber
articles could be overcome by heating rubber with sulphur under pressure at 1500 C. The process was called
vulcanization. The name was given from the Roman God of Fire, Vulcan. Because of this, solid rubber tyres were
used for first time in 1867. That is why we smoothly travel on road.
53. Purified dissolving pulp is used as a basic material in the manufacture of rayon or artificial silk, fabrics, transparent
films (cellophane, cellulose acetate films), plastics. The viscose process of making rayon is the most common
process.

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54. Champaran Satyagraha - Indigofera is a very important cash crop among plants cultivated in India during the
British regime. Farmers were forced to cultivate Indigofera instead of food crops. Gandhi started satyagraha at
Champaran, a village in Bihar in support of farmers. This was the first satyagraha in India by Gandhi. Government
accepted ‘champaran farmers bill’. Gandhi’s first satyagraha in India achieved a great success.
55. Madurai Malli - ‘Madurai Malli’ is the pride of Madurai has a distinct reputation universally because of its
uniqueness and has been given the Geographical Indications (GI) mark by the Geographical indication Registry of
India. Madurai malli has thick petals with long stalk equal to that of petals and the distinct fragrance is due to the
presence of chemicals such as jasmine and alpha terpineol. This makes it easy to distinguish Madurai Malli from
other places. This is the second GI tag for Jasmine after ‘Mysore Malli’.
56. Patenting Of Turmeric - University of Mississippi medical center, USA was granted a patent for wound healing
property of Turmeric in 1995. The patent was granted both for oral and topical applications and provides an
exclusive right to sell and distribute. Since the use of turmeric to heal wounds is a common domain knowledge in
India, the Government of India has decided to fight against the patent through the Indian Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR). CSIR collected documentary evidences from various literature to prove that the
knowledge on wound healing property of turmeric existed in India for a long time and provided the evidences to
the United States Patent and Trade mark Office (USPTO). Based on the evidences the patent was revoked by
USPTO. Hence the traditional knowledge (TK) on turmeric was safeguarded from Bio piracy.
57. Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)
Drugs come in various forms and can be taken in numerous ways. Some are legal and others are not. Drug abuse
and misuse can cause numerous health problems and in serious cases death can occur.
58. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is the nodal drug law enforcement and intelligence agency of India and is
responsible for fighting drug trafficking and the abuse of illegal substances.
59. National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB)
Government of India has set up National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) on 24th November 2000. Currently this
board is working under AYUSH Government of India. Developing an apt mechanism for coordination of various
ministries and implementation of policies for overall growth of medicinal plant sector both at central / state and
international level is the primary mandate of NMPB. It focusses on in-situ and ex-situ conservation and enhancing
local medicinal plants and aromatic species of medicinal significance to meet the growing demand.
60. CSIR Aroma Mission of India
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has Catalyzing Rural Empowerment through Cultivation,
Processing, Value Addition and Marketing of Aromatic Plants”. This program has contributed significantly in the
development, nurturing and positioning of essential oil-based aroma industry in the country. This has led to creation
of an ecosystem benefitting the industry, farmers and next generation entrepreneurs. The activities are pursued in a
synergistic mode with the organization in public and private set ups. This program has also paved way for
developing entrepreneurship in different parts of the country through cultivation and commercial utilization of
aromatic crops.

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