INTRODUCTION
The Department of Botany is one of the oldest departments of GC University Lahore, imparting instructions at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level since 1912. Among the prominent scholars, Prof. Shiv Ram Kashyap, Professors of stature, Prof. S.L. Ghose, Prof. A.C. Joshi, lead this Department. After the Independence of the Subcontinent, Dr. A.A. Qureshi, Dr. Sultan Ahmed, a Mycologist and Taxonomist of international repute, Prof. A.R. Zafar, Prof. A.H. Zafar, Prof. Jawad A. Khan, Prof. Masud-ul-Hasan, Dr. R.A. Mirza and Prof. A. U. Khan promoted the culture of research and development.
The Department of Botany is recognized as a leading provider of quality education supported by relevant experience of staff and the dissemination of leading edge research. Staff members are committed to provide ample opportunities for students to develop those skills that are keenly sought by employers.
The famous saying that “All Flesh is Grass” reflects its significance of Botany in the biosphere. It began with tribal lore, to identify edible, medicinal and poisonous plants for a number of reasons; they generate oxygen and provide food, fibres, fuel and medicine for life forms to exist on earth. An understanding of Botany can help to:
- Become a researcher or teacher in a research and/or academic institution.
- Understand fundamentals of life processes in living organisms to produce more food and fibre for population using healthier and better hybrid seeds of crops harvested through plant breeding and genetics.
- Depict environmental changes through the use of plants as bioindicators and protect plants and endangered plant species through biodiversity conservation techniques.
- Provide link between academia and industry.
- Manage sustainable agriculture, forestry and horticulture with efficacy.
FACILITIES
The Department holds following sophisticated labs with state-of-the-art equipment:

Workshop and Drawing Hall
LABORATORIES
The Department has six General labs., a Tissue Culture lab., Plant Biotechnology/Mole. Biol. Lab, Biodiversity Lab., Dandrochronology Lab., Phycology Lab., Plant Physiology and Ecology Lab. It is planned to establish a separate Molecular Biology Lab., Genetics lab., and Phytopathology lab.
LIFE SCIENCES LIBRARY
The GC University Life Sciences Library has a rich and updated collection of books and research journals including several volumes of the Linnaean Society. The Library holds extensive research material on various subjects like Plant Morphology (Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms), Genetic Engineering, Crop Improvement and Environmental Studies, etc.
Dr. Sultan Ahmad Herbarium
The herbarium was established under the aegis of Prof. S.R. Kashyap in the early 1900s. Under the chairpersonship of Prof. A.U.Khan, the herbarium was officially inaugurated as “Dr. Sultan Ahmed Herbarium” in 2003. The collection at the herbarium is notable for it holds specimens dating back to 1912. The herbarium offers support to institutions and organizations in the field of Botany by making its treasure trove of plant material and specimens available to all researchers. Presently, the herbarium has numerous identified plants mounted on sheets and the addition of specimens is being continued.
Kashyap Museum
Another contribution of the Department by Prof. Kashyap’s was the establishment of a museum in the Department. Prof. Kashyap took keen interest in the collection of plant specimens, not only from Subcontinent, but also from China, Indonesia, UK and Philippines. A large number of specimens have been added to the collection.
GCU Botanic Garden
The GCU Botanic Garden is being managed by the Department since 1912. It covers an area of seven acres dedicated for research and study purposes. Since its establishment, the Botanic Garden has been properly looked after and well kept. It includes a number of wild flora as well as exotic and rare species. Presently, the Botanic Garden is home to 700 species. An index of the plant species present in the Garden entitled “Catalogue of Plants of GC University Lahore Botanic Garden” and a concise booklet entitled “A Brief Guide to Government College Lahore Botanic Garden” provides useful information. Establishment of Pakistan Botanic Gardens Network (PBGN) Secretariat at Botanic Garden GCU is a great achievement which facilitates to collect information from a variety of habitat and technical expertise from skilled persons of the member Botanic Gardens. It also help as a forum to exchange germplasm and genetic resources throughout Pakistan.
The establishment of the Herbal Plot in the Garden is another step towards improving and increasing the collection at the Botanic Garden. A green house, experimental field, plant breeding enclosures and an open-top chamber system is present at the GCU Botanic Garden to facilitate research activities. We also have a seed bank at Botanic Garden, where we conserve germplasm of economically important plant species.
Pakistan Botanic Gardens Network Secretariat (PBGN) has published a report covering Jan 2007-Dec 2008. Please click here to read the contents of the report.
Research
Following three research groups have been established in the Department:
- System Level Integration
- Robotics and Intelligent Systems
- Signal Processing
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Biological Society of Pakistan
- Horticultural Society
- Botany Alumni Association
- Grounds and Gardens
- Research Journal
- Collaborations
- Career Scope
- Future Plans
The Biological Society was established in 1954. The founding members of the Society are Dr. Sultan Ahmad, Dr. Muzzafar Ahmed, Dr. Abu Bakar, Prof. Ahsan-ul-Islam and Prof. Waiz Hussain Bokhari. The Society launched research journal “Biologia” in June, 1955. Today, the journal is subscribed by libraries in the UK, the US, Canada, Indonesia, Brazil, Jordan, Sudan, France, Saudi Arabia, India and The Netherlands.
Horticultural Society is exclusively run under the umbrella of Department of Botany. It provides a healthy opportunity for its members to organize and participate in different seasonal flower shows and exhibitions and invite others to its dry and fresh flower arrangement competitions.
- The applicant should have obtained at least 60% marks in Intermediate or Diploma of Associate Engineers/BTech. (Pass) in Electrical or Electronics or Instrument Technology/ Telecom / Avionics / IT / Precision Mechanical & Instrument / Radar Technology / Radio Technology / Automation / Instrumentation Process Control.
- The applicant must have passed the entry test for admission to engineering institutions, arranged by the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, for the academic session to which the applicant is seeking admission.
- The applicant should not have 3rd division throughout his/her academic career.
Graduates of the Department are serving humanity throughout the world. The Department of Botany feels its prime duty to gather all the alumni. This will not only facilitate the close contacts among the Botanists but also create a platform for further communication among the experts in the field of Botany, The Botany Alumni Association was established in 2009 with the noble objectives:
- To establish a link with/among the Ravian Botanists.
- To honor distinguished alumni of Botany, who have brought national/global acclaim in their respective domains by arranging social I cultural functions and publishing newsletter annually.
Maintenance of University Grounds and Gardens is another important responsibility of Department of Botany. The present fascinating landscape of the GCU campus is a beautiful contribution of The Department of Botany.
The department, in coordination with Department of Zoology has been publishing its research journal “Biologia” since 1955. This journal is an official organ of the Biological Society of Pakistan which is headquartered here at GC University Lahore.
The Department has built strong collaborations with many national and international institutions, Universities and Organizations like Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England; Gondwana Tree-Ring Laboratory New Zealand; Agriculture University, Peshawar; Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society; BZU, Multan; Dendrochronological Lab., Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, Karachi; FC College (Charted University) Lahore; University of Punjab, Lahore; Environmental Protection Department (EPD) Pakistan; Higher Education Commission, Islamabad Pakistan; Karachi University; Ministry of Science and Technology, Pakistan; NIAB, Faisalabad; NIBGE, Faisalabad; NIFA, Peshawar; PCSIR Laboratories, Lahore; PFI, Peshawar; Punjab Small Industries Corporation and University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
Botany as the mother subject provides baseline to progress all the disciplines of plant sciences of conventional as well as modern era. The disciplines of Botany has a broad scope covering so many fields like education, forestry, horticulture, dandrochronology and climatology, research organizations related to agriculture, plant biotechnology, molecular genetics, phycodiversity, lichen biodiversity, plant and microbial genetic engineering, plant metabolic engineering, biopharming etc.
Establishment of Botanic Garden and Herbal Garden cum Biodiversity Park at GC University, New Campus at KSK that will have a state of the art laboratory for plant breeding, compositing unit, etc.
Equipment in Botany Lab
Electric Balance | Laminar Air Flow Hoods | PCR Machine | Gel Electrophoresis | Magnetic Stirrers With Hot Plate | Electric Compound Microscope | Basic Stereo Microscope USA |
Camera Fitted Microscope | Microscope CH10-Mono Olympus | Rotary Evaporator | Centrifuge Machines | Hot Air Oven | Muffle Furnace | Conductivity Metter |
GPS | Tree Ring with Accessories | Sledge Microtome | Filtration Assemblies | Cool Incubator | Incubator B-53 IRMEO | Shaker Incubator WIS-20R |
Autoclaves (Manual and digital) | Digital Thermometer | Spector Photo Meters | LUX Meter | Leaf Area Meter | IRGA | Thermo Hygro Meter |
Flame Photometer | Hot Block | Water Baths | Glass Distillation Unit | Vortex Mixture | Dry Bath With Heating Cooling | Water Bath Shaker |
Water Deionization Unit | Liquid Nitrogen Container | Gel Doc System | Lab. Freezer-20 Temperature | Microwave Oven | Benchtop PH-Meter | Growth Room |
ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES
The Department offers a popular set of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Graduates from other disciplines are also able to pursue different allied courses to accomplish their intensive programmes of study. At present, following Degrees are being offered by the Department of Botany:
- B.Sc (Hons)
- M. Sc
- MPHIL
- Ph.D
Research Groups
At present department is offering research in following areas:
- Biodiversity
- Fungal Biology
- Ethnopharmacology
- Applied Plant Anatomy: Dendrochronology
- Phycology and Algal Biotechnology
- Plant Biotechnology
- Plant Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
COURSES
Year-1 | ||
Semester -I | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 1101 | Diversity of Plants | 2 |
BOT – 1101P | Diversity of Plants | 1 |
Semester -II | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 1201 | Systematic, Anatomy and Development | 2 |
BOT – 1201P | Systematic, Anatomy and Development | 1 |
Year-2 | ||
Semester -III | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 2101 | Cell Biology, Genetics and Evolution | 3 |
BOT – 2101P | Cell Biology, Genetics and Evolution | 1 |
Semester -IV | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 2201 | Biodiversity and conservation | 2 |
BOT – 2201P | Biodiversity and conservation | 1 |
BOT – 2202 | Plant Physiology and Ecology | 3 |
BOT – 2202P | Plant Physiology and Ecology | 1 |
Year-3 | ||
Semester –V | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 3101 | Plant Ecology I | 2 |
BOT – 3101P | Plant Ecology I | 1 |
BOT – 3102 | Diversity of Vascular Plants | 2 |
BOT – 3102P | Diversity of Vascular Plants | 1 |
BOT – 3103 | Phycology and Bryology | 2 |
BOT – 3103P | Phycology and Bryology | 1 |
BOT – 3104 | Mycology and Plant Pathology | 2 |
BOT – 3104P | Mycology and Plant Pathology | 1 |
BOT – 3105 | Plant Systematic | 3 |
BOT – 3105P | Plant Systematic | 1 |
Semester –VI | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 3201 | Plant Anatomy | 2 |
BOT – 3201P | Plant Anatomy | 1 |
BOT – 3202 | Plant Ecology – II | 2 |
BOT – 3202P | Plant Ecology – II | 1 |
BOT – 3203 | Genetics | 2 |
BOT – 3203P | Genetics | 1 |
BOT – 3204 | Plant Biochemistry – I | 3 |
BOT – 3204P | Plant Biochemistry – I | 1 |
BOT – 3205 | Plant and Tissue Culture | 3 |
BOT – 3205P | Plant and Tissue Culture | 1 |
Year-4 | ||
Semester –VII | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 4101 | Plant Physiology – I | 2 |
BOT – 4101P | Plan Physiology – I | 1 |
BOT – 4102 | Plant Biochemistry II | 2 |
BOT – 4102P | Plant Biochemistry II | 1 |
Elective – I | 3 | |
Elective – II | 3 | |
BOT – 4299 | Research Project/Internship | 3 |
Semester –VIII | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 4201 | Plant Physiology – II | 2 |
BOT – 4201P | Plant Physiology – II | 1 |
BOT – 4202 | Molecular Genetics | 2 |
BOT – 4202P | Molecular Genetics | 1 |
Elective – III | 3 | |
Elective – IV | 3 | |
BOT – 4299 | Research Project/Internship | 3 |
- Students will select 4 courses from the following list subject to the availability of the faculty
Elective Papers | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 4203 | Biostatistics | 2 |
BOT – 4203P | Biostatistics (Practical) | 1 |
BOT – 4204 | Ethnobotany | 2 |
BOT – 4204P | Ethnobotany (Practical) | 1 |
BOT – 4205 | Salinity & Water logging | 2 |
BOT – 4205P | Salinity & Water logging (Practical) | 1 |
BOT – 4206 | Symbiotic Relationship | 2 |
BOT – 4206P | Symbiotic Relationship (Practical) | 1 |
BOT – 4207 | Advanced Anatomy | 2 |
BOT – 4207P | Advanced Anatomy (Practical) | 1 |
BOT – 4208 | Plant Pathology | 2 |
BOT – 4208P | Plant Pathology (Practical) | 1 |
BOT – 4209 | Bioinformatics | 2 |
BOT – 4209P | Bioinformatics (Practical) | 1 |
BOT – 4210 | Photophysiology | 2 |
BOT – 4210P | Photophysiology (Practical) | 1 |
ALLIED COURSES
Year-1 | ||
Semester – I | ||
BOT – 1101 | Diversity of Plants | 2 |
BOT – 1101P | Diversity of Plants | 1 |
Semester – II | ||
BOT – 1201 | Systematic, Anatomy and Development | 2 |
BOT – 1201P | Systematic, Anatomy and Development | 1 |
Year-2 | ||
Semester – III | ||
BOT – 2101 | Cell Biology, Genetics and Evolution | 3 |
BOT – 2101P | Cell Biology, Genetics and Evolution | 1 |
Semester – IV | ||
BOT – 2201 | Biodiversity and Conservation | 2 |
BOT – 2201P | Biodiversity and Conservation | 1 |
Allied Courses
Year-1 | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours
Theory + Practical |
BOT – 7101
BOT – 7101P |
Applied Plant Anatomy | 2+1 |
BOT – 7201
BOT – 7201P |
Photo physiology of Plant Growth | 2+1 |
BOT – 7202
BOT – 7202P |
Ethnobotany | 2+1 |
BOT – 7203
BOT – 7203P |
Applied Ecology | 2+1 |
BOT – 7204
BOT – 7204P |
Plant Tissue Culture | 2+1 |
BOT – 7205
BOT – 7205P |
Molecular Biology | 2+1 |
BOT – 7206
BOT – 7206P |
Advanced Phycology | 2+1 |
BOT – 7207
BOT – 7207P |
Forest Mychology | 2+1 |
BOT – 7208
BOT – 7208P |
Recombinant DNA Technology | 2+1 |
Year-2 | ||
Semester – III & IV | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 7499 | Thesis | 12 |
Compulsory Subjects | ||
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
BOT – 8101 | Field and Laboratory Methods in Ecology | 3+1 |
BOT – 8106 | Molecular Basis of Photosynthesis | 3+1 |
BOT – 8110 | Methods and Applications of Plant tissue Culture | 3+1 |
BOT – 8216 | Economic Utility of Algae | 3+1 |
BOT – 8109 | New Trends in Ethnobotany | 3+1 |
Elective Subjects (Two Courses will be offered from the following list) | ||
BOT – 8220 | Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering | 3 |
BOT – 8210 | Stress and Secondary Metabolites | 3 |
BOT – 8217 | Algal Anatomy and Biotechnology | 3 |
BOT – 8211 | Applied Aspects of Plant Anatomy | 3 |
BOT – 8215 | Chemotaxonomy | 3 |
FACULTY

Prof. Dr. Tehreema Iftikhar,
PhD (GCUL), Post Doc (USA)
Designation:
Chairperson

Dr. Ghazala Yasmeen Butt
PhD (KU), Postdoc (Scotland)
Designation:
Associate Professor

Dr. Safdar Ali Mirza
Ph.D(PU)
Designation:
Associate Professor

Dr. Uzma Hanif
PhD (GCUL)
Designation:
Associate Professor

Syed Tariq Rizwan
Mphil (GCUL)
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Dr. Muhammad Hanif
Phd. (PU)
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Dr. Memuna Ghafoor Shahid
Mphil (GCUL)
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Dr. Nousheen Yousaf
Phd PU
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Dr. Andleeb Anwar Sardar
Phd GCUL
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Dr. Sohaib Muhammad
Phd GCUL
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Dr. Zafar Siddiq,
PhD (UCAS-China)
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Dr. Umer Farooq Awan
PhD (BIT, Beijing China)
Designation:
Assistant Professor

Ms. Saira Atta
M.Phil (GCUF)
Designation:
Lecturer

Dr. Athar Hussain Shah
PhD (PU)
Designation:
Senior Visiting Faculty

Ms. Zareen Tanzeem
M.Phil (GCUL)
Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Ms. Fakhara Almas
M.Phil (GCUL)
Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Ms. Taha Arooj
M.Phil (GCUL)
Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Mr. Osama Shafiq
M.Sc (GCUL)
Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Mr. Shariq Khawaja
M.Phil (GCUL)
Designation:
Visiting Faculty

Prof. Khalid Hamid Sheikh
PhD (London)
Designation:
Professor Emeritus

Prof. Dr. Zaheer ud Din Khan
PhD (Kings College London)
Designation:
Distinguished Professor

Mehr Muhammad Asif
MSc. Telecommunication (GCU, Lahore)
Designation:
Sub Engineer

Muhammad Sajid
DAE Electronics
Designation:
Sub Engineer