Africa’s herbarium collections are a scientific treasure. They need to be digitised before more biodiversity is lost

Universities and biodiversity institutes have hidden treasures: their collections of pressed plant specimens. These are plants that have been flattened, dried and mounted on special cardboard sheets. Some of them were collected centuries ago. They hold information about where species occur and how ecosystems changed over time. Yet for many researchers and policymakers, that information remains invisible. The collections are filed in cabinets and the data mostly only accessible if seen in…