The purpose of this project is mainly to produce a Taiwanese botanical database - Database of Native Plants in Taiwan, which consists of (1) label information and specimens images of Taiwanese plant specimens housed at HAST (Herbarium, Institute of Botany, Academia Sinica, Taipei); (2) taxonomic literature; (3) images of wild plants; and (4) GIS-based plant distribution maps. Curatorial management of HAST herbarium is also effectively executed through this system. Invaluable images of herbarium specimens as well as plant photos taken in the wild are preserved permanently. This database serves as a tool for understanding our indigenous flora and their distribution. It also provides a useful reference to the utilization and conservation of the plant resources of Taiwan. This project has completed the management system and the query system for the website “Database of Native Plants in Taiwan”. Thus far 16,000 records of specimens, 6,700 images of specimens, 1,000 records of literature and about 1,200 images mainly of pteridophytes, Asteraceae, Begoniaceae, Commelinaceae, Eriocaulaceae, Liliaceae, Onagraceae, Orchidaceae, Polygonaceae, and Primulaceae are available on the web.

<source: National Digital Archives Program web site>