VIRTUAL HERBARIUM

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Transcript of VIRTUAL HERBARIUM

A Virtual Herbarium is an electronic gateway to the

collections of the Northern Fisheries Center and

Seagrass-Watch HQ herbaria. The goals of the Virtual

Herbarium are to make specimen data available

electronically for use in biodiversity research

projects; to reduce transport of actual specimens for

projects where digital representations will suffice for

study; and to provide a source of reference

information for Seagrass-Watch participants.

What is a Virtual Herbarium?

In Botany, a virtual herbarium is a herbarium in a

digitized form. That is, it concerns a collection of digital

images of preserved plants or plant parts. Virtual herbaria

often are established to improve availability of specimens

to a wider audience. However, there are digital herbaria

that are not suitable for internet access because of the high

resolution of scans and resulting large file sizes (several

hundred megabytes per file). Additional information about

each specimen, such as the location, the collector, and the

botanical name are attached to every specimen.

Frequently, further details such as related species and

growth requirements are mentioned.

The standard hardware used for herbarium specimen imaging

is the "HerbScan" scanner. It is an inverted flat-bed scanner

which raises the specimen up to the scanning surface. This

technology was developed because it is standard practice to

never turn a herbarium specimen upside-down. Alternatively,

some herbaria employ a flat-bed book scanner or a copy stand

to achieve the same effect.

A small color chart and a ruler must be included on a

herbarium sheet when it is imaged. The JSTOR Plant Science

requires that a the ruler bears the herbarium name and logo,

and that a ColorChecker chart is used for any specimens to be

contributed to the Global Plants Initiative (GPI).

Specimen Imaging

Virtual herbaria are established in part to increase the

longevity of specimens. Major herbaria participate in

international loan programs, where a researcher can request

specimens to be shipped in for study. This shipping

contributes to the wear and tear of specimens. If, however,

digital images are available, images of the specimens can be

sent electronically. These images may be a sufficient

substitute for the specimens themselves, or alternatively, the

researcher can use the images to "preview" the specimens, to

which ones should be sent out for further study. This process

cuts down on the shipping, and thus the wear and tear of the

specimens, as well as the wait times associated with

shipping.

Uses

Virtual herbaria can also be used to increase public

awareness of herbaria. Some herbaria make their specimen

databases publicly available on the Internet. Digital images

of specimens can be added to these databases to allow the

public to further engage with the material. Some herbaria

also capitalize on their images by selling herbarium prints

and greeting cards featuring particularly attractive

specimens.

You can choose the best digital herbarium that you like.

Below the details which must have the labeled of the leaf.

FAMILY:

SCIENTIFIC NAME:

COMMON NAME:

ORIGIN:

LEAF BLADE:

PETIOLE:

STIPULES:

ALTERNATE:

OPPOSITE

WHORLED

ROSETTE:

SIMPLE:

COMPOUND:

PINNATELY COMPOUND:

PALMATELY COMPOUND:

DOUBLE PINNATELY COMPOUND: