Allan Herbarium and associated databases

Ilse Breitwieser and Aaron Wilton

LANDCARE RESEARCH

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/plantsprog/

Allan Herbarium• Over 550 000 plant specimens

• Ancillary collections

• Purpose – record NZ flora• Document morphological variation and

geographic distribution• Voucher scientific research• Important for the study of DNA,

palynology, ultrastructure etc.• Provide record of NZ’s cultural and natural

history

• Management and curation of collection and databases are inseparable from systematic research

Herbarium - future

• Collect and record the flora of New Zealand, and make this information available

• Maintain an active research herbarium that is fully curated technically and scientifically

• Provide herbarium services to international standard

Databases• Allan Herbarium Specimen Database

• c. 120 000 records• Records data from specimens

• Plant Names Database• Scientific names of New Zealand plants • Seed plants, ferns, mosses, lichens, liverworts

and freshwater algae• over 30 000 records

• Others include: Loans, Cabinets, Type Photograph, Molecular sequence databases

http://nzflora.landcareresearch.co.nz

Database - future

• Database collection fully

• Improve data quality and tools for scientific research and collection management

• Participate in national and international initiatives (e.g., GBIF, Australian Virtual Herbarium, N.Z. National Herbarium Network)

• Develop EBiota to deliver information to endusers

Issues

• Lack of funding• Declining FTEs• Gaps in systematic expertise• Backlog

• HSNO and Biosecurity Acts