WA Herbarium’s upgraded data base launched
With its masses of shell-pink flowers, Scholtzia involucrata (Spiked Scholtzia) commonly occurs on sandy soils, from south of Perth to Eneabba and eastward to the Wheatbelt, forming part of the understorey in kwongan or Banksia woodland communities. Image: Rob Davis, WA Herbarium
An upgraded version of the Western Australian Herbarium’s popular site, Florabase was launched during National Science Week.
Florabase, established 22 years ago, is a dynamic, interactive web resource which celebrates WA’s incredible botanical diversity with images and descriptions of plants. It now also provides information about the State’s fungi and seaweeds.
The new features of Florabase 3 include greater access to specimen data, improved mapping, and an enhanced search capability.
August 2021 Plant of the Month Siegfriedia darwinioides CA Gardner – occurs from east of the Stirling Ranges to Esperance, with most records from the Ravensthorpe area. The yellow-green, bell-like flowers can be seen in open mallee woodlands from April to August. Image: Rob Davis, WA Herbarium
The Western Australian Herbarium, part of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, leads or collaborates in a range of projects, with State and Federal government agencies and community organisations. Many of them adopt Florabase as their ‘portal’ to the biodiversity information they collect and analyse. The site received 10.3M page views in the last 3 years, from over 635,000 users.
To learn more about our diverse plants and ecosystems visit Florabase here.
