Adil GÜNER, Vehbi ESER - optima

DIGITIZATION OF EXCICCATA AND DATABASE THE HERBARIUM OF
RABAT "RAB"
Jalal EL OUALIDI1, Hamid KHAMAR1, Mohammed FENNANE1, Mohammed IBN
TATTOU1, Stéphanie CHAUVET2 & Joël MATHEZ2,3
1 University Mohammed V-Agdal, Institut Scientifique, department of Botany and Plant Ecology, Rabat,
Morocco, eloualidi@israbat.ac.ma
2 Tela Botanica, Institut de Botanique, Montpellier, France, stephanie@tela-botanica.org
3 Herbarium mPu, Institut de Botanigve, Montpellier, France, mathez@isem.univ_monp2.fr
- To digitize exciccata of RAB herbarium (types and other important moroccan taxa:
endemic, endangered or rare).
- To provide a digital database of RAB herbarium.
Work is done in close relationship with Tela Botanica, following the same methodology than
in MPU herbarium. The following steps are involved:
1. Selection of relevant material
2. Eventually plant restoration when necessary for a good quality image
3. Creation of a high quality image using the Herbscan digitizing unit developed by Kew
4. Image quality check
5. Databasing of label data on Sonnerat database (MNHN, Paris)
6. Transfer of images to Paris for intermediate storage
7. Data quality check
8. Data extraction and transfer to ALUKA in agreed format, jointly with related images
The project is currently in progress: c. 600 types have been digitized and databased up to now,
and 400 endemic or rare taxa are being processed.
Rabat plans to extend this initiative to all North Africa by starting the following study:
Compiling a Checklist of North African type specimens and endemic vascular plants:
Feasibility study
Floras of north african countries shows many common characters. Rabat thus plans to extend
this digitization and databasing project to all this region, firstly with a study of project
feasibility. It consists in a compiled checklist of type specimens and endemic vascular plants,
that will enable to locate herbaria, to identify each country's competence, to synthesize data
and to identify taxinomic and nomenclatural complex groups.
Keywords: exciccata, herbarium RAB, types taxa, Checklist, Morocco, North Africa.
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