The Department (formerly Department of Botany) was officially opened in 1957, and includes the Herbarium established in 1945 and the Botanic garden in 1946. Over the years, it has developed staff expertise in Ecology, Taxonomy and Systematics, Curation and Herbaria, Physiology, Genetics,Plant Pathology, Microbiology (Bacteriology, Mycology and Virology), Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Ethnobotany, Ethnopharmacology and Conservation Biology.