Discuss the main roles of herbaria.

Explanation

The main roles of herbaria are as follows:
i) The herbarium prepares pressed and dried specimen for future use. It also protects the specimens from fungal attack.
ii) Specimens on the description of which the species names are established, are kept in safe rooms.
iii) Herbaria are responsible for compilation of Floras, Manuals and Monographs.
iv) Knowledge of plant taxonomy and distribution is gained from herbarium specimens.
v) It helps in the identification of specimens.
vi) Many herbaria have arrangements for training the persons in herbarium practices, such as collection, pressing, drying, mounting, labelling, storing and protecting plant specimens.