See plants from across Caucasus in interactive online herbarium

Over 50 examples of unique plants from across the South Caucasus, collected in expeditions spanning over 170 years, can now be explored in an online repository of species launched by the Georgian National Museum.

Endemic species, relict plants and exhibits from the Georgian Red List of Threatened Species are in the selection that presents images and brief information about each item on the Interactive Herbarium page of the GNM network.

Representing the vascular, seed-producing and flowering plant types, the current selection offers information on 54 exhibits, including their habitat, distribution in Georgia as well as in the overall region.

The Buttercup family of the Perennial plant type and the Saxifrage family of the Herbaceous perennial plant type. Photo via Georgian National Museum.

The display is aimed to illustrate Georgia's status as having "one of the richest" selection of floral diversity among countries in regions with temperate climate, the GNM release unveiling the page said.

Accompanying profiles of exhibits, scanned images of the presented plants have been created in high resolution, enabling users to zoom in to view close-up details of plants. Additional images showing them in live environments also come with the individual pages.

The examples have been sourced from botanical collections amassed via expeditions held across the South Caucasus since 1852, as well as from contributions, organisations and private collections.

The unveiling of the herbarium follows the first-ever illustrated map of Caucasus biodiversity, launched in an international collaboration involving the GNM last year. The page has over 100 illustrations including 17 mammals, 15 reptiles and 30 plants found across the region.