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Botanical Study in Ancient Indian Literature: A Review

Before the invention of microscope, and of course its super-cousin (SEM), the microscopic world was not visible to humans. Microscopes made it possible to study the vascular structures and their function in nutrient transport, as also cellular basis of growth. But minute and careful observation of plants in India dates back to a few thousand years. The ancient science of botany was quite developed in its understanding of the plant kingdom, as also in taxonomy. The beginning of relationship between humans and plants can be traced back to the prehistoric times. The Indus Valley people used to live in villages,cities and towns, wore clothes,cultivated crops including wheat, barley, millet, dates, vegetables, melon and other fruits and cotton; worshipped trees, glazed their pottery with the juice of plants and painted them with a large number of plant designs. They also knew the commercial value of plants and plant products. There are sufficient indications to show that Agriculture, Medicine, Horticulture, developed to a great extent during the Vedic Period. In the Vedic literature we find a large number of terms used in the description of plants and plant parts, both external features

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