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Saving Plants from Extinction with Groundbreaking Technology – Missouri Botanical Garden’s Herbarium Goes Digital to Revolutionize Species Identification  

Landmark $14.4 million grant to the Missouri Botanical Garden marks the largest gift to botany in recent years 

(ST. LOUIS) The Missouri Botanical Garden is excited to announce the launch of its Revolutionizing Species Identification (RSI) project, a transformative initiative to digitize the Missouri Botanical Garden’s extensive herbarium collection. The project will leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology to accelerate plant species identification that will inform restoration and conservation efforts worldwide. Herbaria are the world’s libraries of preserved plant specimens, providing fundamental information on plant diversity, distribution, geography, and ecology. This landmark initiative made possible by an anonymous $14.4 million grant—the largest gift to botany in recent years—will bring 6 million plant specimens online over the next six years, making critical data freely accessible to scientists, conservationists, and policymakers globally.  

AI technology will automatically detect unique plant characteristics that will be used to create an online reference library of plant features. Scientists will then be able to upload images and other data from an unidentified plant to a new project website for rapid automated species identification. This innovative project responds to the urgent global biodiversity crisis, where approximately one third of the world’s plants are endangered and need saving. Additionally, 40,000 plant species remain unidentified with an estimated 77% likely threatened with extinction (for reference, there are 400,000 plant species known compared to 11,000 species of birds and 4,000 species of mammals).  
 
This project will transform botany—scientists will not only identify unidentified plant specimens; they will also be able to instantly use that information to advance species conservation and restoration of endangered plant species. If this works as expected, the same technology could be deployed to drones, which automatically identify trees in a forest allowing a user on the ground to immediately know whether an endangered tree species occurs in the area. This work could also lead to the discovery of plant species with properties similar to crops like coffee and cocoa — two globally loved crops that are potentially at risk of extinction. 
 

Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, President of the Missouri Botanical Garden, highlighted the project’s global importance: “Plants are essential to all life, and this project allows us to harness technology to secure their future. While plants have often remained overlooked, they hold great power and can help address many challenges threatening our world. By digitizing our collection and developing AI for rapid species identification, the Missouri Botanical Garden is helping safeguard biodiversity on a global scale.” 

RSI’s combination of visual scanning, multispectral imaging, and AI will create an unmatched biodiversity dataset of over eight million specimens. This dataset will enable rapid identification and analysis of plant traits, supporting targeted conservation efforts that prioritize species and habitats at risk. By partnering with cutting-edge technology, RSI will transform the role of herbaria in conservation science. This will inspire a new generation of plant science professionals, which is needed now more than ever as botany and plant taxonomy remain critically under resourced.  

Dr. Gunter Fischer, Senior Vice President of Science & Conservation at the Missouri Botanical Garden, remarked: “You can only conserve what you know. If a species remains unidentified, we cannot protect it. Modern technologies, such as multispectral imaging and AI, allow us to pinpoint rare and endangered plants quickly, transforming our ability to prioritize conservation. These advancements enable us to map species under threat, like those impacted by natural disaster or overharvesting. The research and technology in this project allow us to move faster than we ever have before when it comes to identifying species and that means we can move faster in safeguarding biodiversity before it is too late.” 

The RSI project directly supports the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and aligns with the United Nations’ goal to conserve 30% of the Earth’s land and water by 2030. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s innovative approach leverages AI and multispectral technology to address the complexities of biodiversity loss and habitat destruction with speed, precision, and accessibility. 

Funding for the RSI project would not have been possible without private philanthropy. Impact driven philanthropists are advancing science in ways never seen before. The Missouri Botanical Garden is equipping the next generation of botanists and taxonomists with cutting-edge tools and training. This investment in emerging scientists will not only expand expertise in underfunded fields but also ensure continuity and advancement in critical areas of plant science and conservation. 

About the Missouri Botanical Garden 
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a global leader in science, conservation, horticulture, and education, whose mission is to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life. The Garden’s programs operate locally and throughout the world to address key challenges facing humanity by empowering stakeholders to manage, protect, and restore biodiversity sustainably.  

Founded in 1859 and located in St. Louis, Missouri, the Garden is one of the nation's oldest botanical institutions and a National Historic Landmark. The beautifully landscaped gardens, along with the satellite sites Shaw Nature Reserve and the Butterfly House, attract over 1 million visitors a year.  

For more information, please visit mobot.org/rsi.