Virtual herbarium
Encyclopedia
In botany
, a virtual herbarium is a herbarium
in a digitized form. That is, it concerns a collection of digital image
s of preserved plant
s 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.
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).
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.
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, a virtual herbarium is a herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
in a digitized form. That is, it concerns a collection of digital image
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
s of preserved plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s 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.
Specimen Imaging
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 scannerBook scanning
Book scanning is the process of converting physical books and magazines into digital media such as images, electronic text, or electronic books by using an image scanner....
or a copy stand
Copy stand
In photography, a copy stand is a device used to copy images and/or text with a camera. The stand consists of a board onto which the media is placed and a tripod-mount parallel to it, usually with an adjustable height. Light is provided by bright lamps mounted on either side of the media at...
to achieve the same effect.
A small color chart
Color chart
In color-related fields, a color chart is a flat, physical object colored with an arrangement of standardized color samples, used for color comparisons and measurements such as checking the color reproduction of an imaging system...
and a ruler must be included on a herbarium sheet when it is imaged. The JSTOR
JSTOR
JSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
Plant Science requires that a the ruler bears the herbarium name and logo, and that a ColorChecker
ColorChecker
The ColorChecker Color Rendition Chart is a color calibration target consisting of a cardboard-framed arrangement of 24 squares of painted samples. The ColorChecker was introduced in a 1976 paper by McCamy, Marcus, and Davidson in the Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering...
chart is used for any specimens to be contributed to the Global Plants Initiative (GPI).
Uses
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.Virtual herbaria can also be used to increase public awareness of herbaria. Some herbaria make their specimen databases publicly available on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. 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.
External links
- Tropicos (Missouri Botanical Garden)
- Australia's Virtual Herbarium
- United States Virtual Herbarium
- Louisiana State University Virtual Herbarium
- National Botanic Garden of Belgium Virtual Herbarium
- University of the Balearic Islands Virtual Herbarium
- University of Connecticut Virtual Herbarium
- Utah Valley University Virtual Herbarium
- Virtual Herbarium of the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Freie Universität Berlin
- The Virtual Herbarium at The New York Botanical Garden