The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the

Atlas of Living Australia The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is an online repository of information about Australian plants, animals, and fungi. Development started in 2006. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an organisation sig ...

(ALA), and was formed by the amalgamation of ''Australia's Virtual Herbarium'' and ''NZ Virtual Herbarium''. As of 12 August 2014, more than five million specimens of the 8 million and upwards specimens available from participating institutions have been databased.

Uses

This resource is used by academics, students, and anyone interested in research in botany in Australia or New Zealand, since each record tells all that is known about the specimen: where and when it was collected; by whom; its current identification together with the botanist who identified it; and information on habitat and associated species. ALA post processes the original herbarium data, giving further fields with respect to taxonomy and quality of the data. When interrogating individual specimen records, the environmental overlays show reverse jackknife testing to see whether the specimen is an outlier with respect to the climate and other environmental layers. See e.g.
MEL 0304065A (''Scaevola amblyanthera'')
All records are downloadable in their entirety, by anyone. Examples of the use of these records may be found in * journal articles on: e.g., sea warming; marine biogeography; acacias; weeds; determining phytogeographical regions via species composition; developing biodiverse plantings suitable for changing climatic conditions; phylogenetics and conservation; and statistical issues arising when using herbaria data * some Wikipedia range maps for, e.g., ''

Tribonanthes violacea ''Tribonanthes violacea'' belongs to the genus ''Tribonanthes'' in the bloodwort family, Haemodoraceae. It was first described by Stephan Endlicher in 1846. It is a perennial herb growing from 0.05 to 0.2 m high, in peat, white, grey or yell ...

'', '' Blancoa canescens'' and '' Haemodorum coccineum''. A

google scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes p ...

search, using the phrase ''Australia's Virtual Herbarium'', shows that well over 200 articles (as of 3 May 2018) have been published using data from this resource.

Participating herbaria

* The

State Herbarium of South Australia The State Herbarium of South Australia, sometimes called the South Australian Herbarium, and having the herbarium code, AD, is located in Adelaide, South Australia. It is one of several State and Commonwealth herbaria in Australia. The Depa ...

(AD), Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources *

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auck ...

(AK) * The

Queensland Herbarium The Queensland Herbarium (Index Herbariorum code: BRI) is situated at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of Queensland's Department of Environment and Science. It is responsible for disc ...

(BRI), Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation (DSITI) * The

Australian National Herbarium The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departm ...

(CANB), Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, CSIRO Plant Industry and the Australian National Botanic Gardens *The

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

Herbarium (CANU), University of Canterbury *The Allan Herbarium (CHR), Landcare Research NZ Ltd *The Australian Tropical Herbarium (CNS), a joint venture of CSIRO Plant Industry and the Director National Parks (through the Australian National Herbarium), the Queensland Government (through the Queensland Herbarium and the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts (DSITIA)) and James Cook University *The

Northern Territory Herbarium Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

, in Darwin (DNA) and Alice Springs (NT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources *The

Tasmanian Herbarium The Tasmanian Herbarium is a herbarium in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Its Index Herbariorum code is HO. It is a part of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The earliest plant samples in the herbarium's collection date from early European expl ...

(HO), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Department of State Growth *The James Cook University Herbarium (JCT),

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

*The

Lincoln University Herbarium Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Linc ...

(LINC), Lincoln University *The

La Trobe University Herbarium LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

(LTB) *The

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.5 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known a ...

(MEL), Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria *The

University of Melbourne Herbarium The University of Melbourne Herbarium is a teaching and research herbarium within the School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne in Parkville, Victoria, Australia. Its Index Herbariorum code is MELU.Dame Ella Campbell Herbarium ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zea ...

(MPN),

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...

*The N.C.W. Beadle Herbarium (NE), The

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 18,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 3,000 students See also *New England Colle ...

*The National Herbarium of New South Wales (NSW), Botanic Gardens Trust *The New Zealand Forestry Herbarium (NZFRI), SCION *The

New Zealand Fungarium New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

(PDD), Landcare Research NZ Ltd *The

Western Australian Herbarium The Western Australian Herbarium is the State Herbarium in Perth, Western Australia. It is part of the State government's Department of Parks and Wildlife, and has responsibility for the description and documentation of the flora of Western Aust ...

(PERTH), Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions *The Herbarium (UNITEC),

Unitec Institute of Technology Unitec Institute of Technology ( Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka) is the largest institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. 16,844 students study programmes from certificate to postgraduate degree level (levels 1 to 9) across a range of ...

* The Herbarium (WELT), Museum of New Zealand – Te Papa Tongarewa *The

Janet Cosh Herbarium Janet may refer to: Names * Janet (given name) * Janet (French singer) (1939–2011) Surname * Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table * Jules Janet (1861–1945), French p ...

(WOLL), The University of Wollongong Herbaria and their codes may be found at Wikipedia's list of herbaria which is based on the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a ...

's continuously updated index.

History

Plans for ''Australia's Virtual Herbarium'' were announced in 2001. An article by Tim Entwisle in 2003 shows it still to be largely in the planning stage at that time, although the projected usages for preservation of biodiversity in western New South Wales were already visible.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=https://www.anbg.gov.au/chah/avh/avh.html , title=What is Australia's Virtual Herbarium? Australian National Botanical Gardens, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, access-date=2 May 2018 Holmgren, P.K. & Holmgren, N.H. 1998 (continuously updated). {{cite web, title= Index Herbariorum: A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff , place=New York , publisher= New York Botanical Garden , url=http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/IndexHerbariorum.asp, access-date=18 June 2008 Wernberg, T., Russell, B.D., Thomsen, M.S., Gurgel, F.D., Bradshaw, C.J.A., Poloczanska, E.S., Connell, S.D.{{cite journal, title=Seaweed communities in Retreat from Ocean Warming, journal=Current Biology, date=2011, volume=21, issue=21, pages=1828–1832, doi=10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.028, pmid=22036178, last1 = Wernberg, first1 = Thomas, last2=Russell, first2=Bayden D., last3=Thomsen, first3=Mads S., last4=Gurgel, first4=C. Frederico D., last5=Bradshaw, first5=Corey J.A., last6=Poloczanska, first6=Elvira S., last7=Connell, first7=Sean D., doi-access=free
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/ref> Waters, J.M, Wernberg, T., Connell, S.D., Thomsen, M.S., Zuccarello, G.C., Kraft, G.T., Sanderson, J.C., West, J.A., Gurgel, C.F.D. 2010. Australia's marine biogeography revisited: Back to the future? Austral Ecology 35, 988-992. {{doi, 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2010.02114.x Richardson, D.M., Carruthers, J., Hui, C., Impson, F.A.C., Miller, J.T., Robertson, M.P., Rouget, M., Roux, J.J.L., Wilson, J.R.U. 2011. Human‐mediated introductions of Australian acacias – a global experiment in biogeography. Diversity and Distributions 17, 771-787.{{doi, 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00824.x
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/ref> {{cite journal, last1=Beaumont, first1=Linda J., last2=Gallagher, first2=Rachael V., last3=Leishman, first3=Michelle R., last4=Hughes, first4=Lesley, last5=Downey, first5=Paul O., last6=Wilson, first6=John, title=How can knowledge of the climate niche inform the weed risk assessment process? A case study of ''Chrysanthemoides monilifera'' in Australia, journal=Diversity and Distributions, volume=20, issue=6, year=2014, pages=613–625, issn=1366-9516, doi=10.1111/ddi.12190 {{cite web, url=http://avh.chah.org.au/index.php/2014/08/12/press-release/ , title=AVH Press release 12 August 2014, access-date=3 May 2018 {{cite web, url=http://www.virtualherbarium.org.nz/home;jsessionid=9B75BFDC92459674A53DE374756FBF3B, title=NZ Virtual Herbarium, access-date=3 May 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503111907/http://www.virtualherbarium.org.nz/home;jsessionid=9B75BFDC92459674A53DE374756FBF3B, archive-date=3 May 2018, url-status=dead {{cite journal, last1=Hyndman, first1=R. J., last2=Mesgaran, first2=M. B., last3=Cousens, first3=R. D., title=Statistical issues with using herbarium data for the estimation of invasion lag-phases, journal=Biological Invasions, volume=17, issue=12, year=2015, pages=3371–3381, issn=1387-3547, doi=10.1007/s10530-015-0962-8, s2cid=16212951, hdl=11343/282687, hdl-access=free {{cite web, url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_q=&as_epq=Australia%27s+Virtual+Herbarium&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_occt=any&as_sauthors=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&hl=es&as_sdt=0%2C5 , title=Google Scholar: ''Australia's Virtual Herbarium'', access-date=3 May 2018 {{cite journal, last1=Dodd, first1=Aaron J., last2=Burgman, first2=Mark A., last3=McCarthy, first3=Michael A., last4=Ainsworth, first4=Nigel, last5=Duncan, first5=Richard, title=The changing patterns of plant naturalization in Australia, journal=Diversity and Distributions, volume=21, issue=9, year=2015, pages=1038–1050, issn=1366-9516, doi=10.1111/ddi.12351, hdl=11343/217150, hdl-access=free {{cite web, url=http://avh.chah.org.au/index.php/2013/10/15/ala-blog-entry-describing-data-processing/ , title=AVH Blog: October 15, 2013, access-date=4 May 2018 {{cite web, title=Atlas of Living Australia: Data processing (October 9, 2013), url=https://www.ala.org.au/uncategorised/data-processing/, access-date=4 May 2018 {{cite web, url=http://avh.chah.org.au/index.php/2012/06/01/new-release-of-avh/ , title=AVH Blog: June 1, 2012, access-date=4 May 2018 {{cite web, url=http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22media/pressrel/RPA46%22, title=Parliament of Australia: Senator Robert Hill: Media release: June 14, 2001, access-date=4 May 2018 Entwisle, T. 2003. Australia's virtual herbarium.

Australian Geographic Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclop ...

, 08161658, Apr-Jun2003, Issue 70. {{cite journal, last1=Joger, first1=Ulrich, last2=González-Orozco, first2=Carlos E., last3=Ebach, first3=Malte C., last4=Laffan, first4=Shawn, last5=Thornhill, first5=Andrew H., last6=Knerr, first6=Nunzio J., last7=Schmidt-Lebuhn, first7=Alexander N., last8=Cargill, first8=Christine C., last9=Clements, first9=Mark, last10=Nagalingum, first10=Nathalie S., last11=Mishler, first11=Brent D., last12=Miller, first12=Joseph T., title=Quantifying Phytogeographical Regions of Australia Using Geospatial Turnover in Species Composition, journal=PLOS ONE, volume=9, issue=3, year=2014, pages=e92558, issn=1932-6203, doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0092558, pmid=24658356, pmc=3962426, bibcode=2014PLoSO...992558G, doi-access=free {{cite journal, last1=Booth, first1=Trevor H., last2=Williams, first2=Kristen J., last3=Belbin, first3=Lee, title=Developing biodiverse plantings suitable for changing climatic conditions 2: Using the Atlas of Living Australia, journal=Ecological Management & Restoration, volume=13, issue=3, year=2012, pages=274–281, issn=1442-7001, doi=10.1111/emr.12000 {{cite journal, last1=Pollock, first1=L. J., last2=Rosauer, first2=D. F., last3=Thornhill, first3=A. H., last4=Kujala, first4=H., last5=Crisp, first5=M. D., last6=Miller, first6=J. T., last7=McCarthy, first7=M. A., title=Phylogenetic diversity meets conservation policy: small areas are key to preserving eucalypt lineages, journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, volume=370, issue=1662, year=2015, pages=20140007, issn=0962-8436, doi=10.1098/rstb.2014.0007, pmid=25561668, pmc=4290421 Atlas of Living Australia data quality: detected outlier jackknife.
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"Notes on Methods for Detecting Spatial Outliers in Species Occurrence Data"
Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 13 June 2019.

External links

AVH: Search for records in the Australasian Virtual Herbarium.
Retrieved 3 May 2018.
AVH: Data.
Retrieved 3 May 2018.
New York Botanic Garden: Index Herbariorum.
Retrieved 3 May 2018.
Atlas of Living Australia: Data processing (October 9, 2013.)
Retrieved 4 May 2018. Botany in Australia Botany in New Zealand Online botany databases Flora of Australasia Databases in Australia Biodiversity databases Biology websites Australian science websites Biota of Australia