🌿 Herbarium specimens: What ordinary people see VS what a scientist sees 👀🧪 People often view herbarium specimens as dried up, flattened plants - perhaps with little real-world value. But a scientist can see a window into the past & solutions for the future, such as... 🧵👇
🌎 Climate Change Indicators: When looking at a herbairum specimen, a scientist may see data to predict the future impacts of climate change (by comparing historic specimens with present day ones), allowing the development of strategies to adopt to a new climate 📊
💊 Medical Breakthroughs: Understanding different species through herbarium collections can be a crucial initial step in developing novel medicines. By studying plant compounds extracted from a dried specimen, scientists can unlock new potential treatments
🌽 Future-Proofing Agriculture: Herbarium collections can uncover resilient wild varieties and lost traits from crops, preserving and reintroducing valuable genetic diversity. A scientist may see a way to ensure long-term agricultural sustainability 💪
🌿 Conservation: By analysing herbarium specimens, scientists map the geographical distribution of plants, identifying regional variations & tracking changes over time. This information is vital for conservation efforts & studying the impacts of environmental factors on flora 📈
💚 Protecting Species: Herbarium specimens help identify & assess the threat of extinction faced by plants. By understanding their distribution and vulnerability, scientists can develop conservation plans to save the 40% of plants now at risk & protect our planet's biodiversity🌱
So there you have it – an insight into the mind of a scientist when they look at a dried plant specimen. But did you know that you’ll soon be able to access our collection of 8 million herbarium and fungarium specimens?
As part of our Digitisation Project, we’re bringing our entire collection online to supercharge biodiversity-saving efforts AND it will be totally free for all to use! Stay tuned to find out when our new Data Portal is live 🙌 #KewDigiProject