FATHER OF INDIAN PLANT ANATOMY

Prof. P. Jayaraman was born on 15.12.1936 in a village called Vettavalam

in Thiruvannamalai District in Tamil Nadu. He had his M.Sc. and Ph.D.
degrees in Botany from Presidency College, Chennai. He was the last
Ph.D. student of Dr. B.G.L. Swamy who is one of the eminent
Professors of Plant Morphology and also a former Principal of Presidency
College, Chennai. His area of specialization was Plant Anatomy. He
studied and served in the Presidency College, Chennai. He is one of
the renowned teachers in the field of Plant Anatomy in India. He has
guided more than 10 Ph.D. students directly and offered research
expertise to more than 100 Ph.D. scholars indirectly. He retired from
Service in 1995, but he has not retired from Science/scientific
studies. Just after his retirement, he has established a Research
Laboratory in Chennai viz., Plant Anatomy Research Centre (PARC),
which is located at No. 4, 2nd Street, Sakthi Nagar, West Tambaram,
Chennai – 600045.
Research Scholars, Students, Teachers, Scientists and others from
different disciplines of Plant Sciences across the country visit his
laboratory for identification, authentication, consultation, and guidance,
anatomical description of plant organs and also to seek his expert opinion
before proceeding to any research in plant anatomy/medicinal plants.
People also visit PARC for referring rare and valuable books, Ph.D. theses,
Dissertations, journals etc. In fact, PARC is a reference centre for the
Herbal Scientists and Plant Anatomists. He has a repository of more
than 500 voucher slides in PARC.

He has attained 75 years in December 2010. He devoted two third of his

life span (about 45 years) to study different plant groups anatomically
and gained a wealth of knowledge in Plant Anatomy as well as in
Medicinal Plants. I can proudly say that in India, no one has studied the
plants anatomically, the way he has studied. He is a ‘Living
Encyclopedia of Plant Anatomy’. There is a famous biblical wording
that ‘Man looks at the external appearance, but God looks at the
heart’. Yes, he looks at the ‘heart, mind and soul of plants’, that is,
the vasculatures (vascular structures), which enables us to differentiate
one species from the other anatomically.

He deserves to be designated as the ‘Father of Indian Plant Anatomy’.

In recognition of his untiring service and outstanding contribution to the
field of plant anatomy, he may be decorated as the ‘Father of Plant
Anatomy in India’. Let us all pray to Almighty to give him pink health,
wealth and longevity to serve the scientific fraternity.

- A.B.D. Selvam
Scientist, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata.