An estimated 7.8 million plant specimens are housed within the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), representing the largest archive of botanical biodiveristy in the western hemisphere. Scientists need access to these collections when describing new species, monitoring invasive plants, planning conservation areas, and modeling the effects of climate change.

As a participant in this citizen science project, you will be helping botanists at NYBG and around the world by building new digital datasets from plant specimens that have been collected and preserved over centuries. These extraordinary records of historic plant occurrences contribute profoundly to our understanding of the living planet and open new avenues for investigating long-term patterns in biodiversity change.