Gen Herb — Whole or partial organism — World terrestrial/freshwater

Overview

Gen Herb — Whole or partial organism — World terrestrial/freshwater groups 115 collection units from the Gen Herb section within the LS Algae, Fungi and Plants division (Life Sciences), covering an estimated 1,968,540 individual items held across 1,925,750 curatorial/storage units. Material is predominantly whole or partial organism (115 of 115 collection units). Geographic coverage is centred on World terrestrial/freshwater. Preservation is mainly dried and pressed, dried, and liquid. Named taxa represented in this product include Tracheophyta, Alismatales, Apiales, Aquifoliales, and Arecales, among others.

Value

Curatorial assessment rates this product highly on Strategy/mission/research, Significance by comparison, and Identification (avg. 4.1/5 across its top three scored dimensions), indicating it is well positioned for external licensing relative to other NHM holdings. Its breadth and depth of coverage make it suitable as a comprehensive reference dataset rather than a niche sample. High-confidence taxonomic identification throughout the set means downstream users can trust the labels without extensive re-verification. At 115 collection units, it is one of the larger, more substantial products in the catalogue, supporting sustained or multi-phase licensing engagements rather than a one-off dataset.

Use Cases

1. training data for plant-identification and precision-agriculture computer-vision models
2. herbarium specimen imagery for botanical illustration, publishing, and horticultural media
3. reference datasets for taxonomic and phylogenetic research, and for tracking historical distribution/phenology
4. content for gardening, conservation, and citizen-science apps
5. academic and institutional research licensing (biodiversity, systematics, and comparative studies)
6. comparative research, and as a dataset that is distinctive relative to equivalent holdings at other institutions