The largest database on plants in Russia

Jan 18, 2023

Moscow (Russia), Jan 18, (ANI/TV BRICS): The Moscow State University’s digital herbarium is the largest plant database in Russia. Scientists at Moscow University have scanned and published more than a million specimens from around the world. The Moscow State University (MSU) herbarium is more than 200 years old. Digitization of the plant collection will ensure its preservation in the future and make the database accessible to anyone. With the digital herbarium, the user can find out not only the species of plant, but also where, by whom and when the specimen was collected. Volunteers find plants, send specimens and their photos and collect information for the database. In four years of such work, 21,000 participants have prepared 2.3 million photos of plants all over Russia. The MSU Digital Herbarium is also an interaction platform. The help of volunteers in creating the database allows scientists to free themselves from routine work and citizens to feel like botanists.