Vascular plant collection 2022–2024

For the present, as part of the digitisation funding line, approval has been given for a three-month pilot study on the creation of an inventory of the Meister collection (from January to March 2022).

Aim of the project

By the end of the project it is intended that:

1. an inventory of the diatom collection of Dr Friederich Meister will have been made; his notes and slides will have been digitally saved and made freely available online, along with their metadata;
2. all (approximately 25,000) herbarium records of the “Gentianaceae” family have been made freely available online along with their metadata;
3. all (approximately 55,000) herbarium records of the former “Caryophyllaceae-Silenoideae” have been made freely available online along with their metadata.

Description of the project

This project is comprised of three subprojects:

1. Creation of a complete inventory of the diatom collection of Dr Friederich Meister and digitisation of a portion of the objects (including slides and notebooks) in order to simplify the management of this collection, ensure the conservation of fragile archival holdings, and ensure that researchers from around the world can digitally access these personal papers.
2. Reclassification and digitisation of all herbarium records of the “Gentianaceae” in order to produce a better estimate of the diversity of these holdings based on the latest findings, establish the conditions for the integration of a new gift, and facilitate use and accessibility of these records for future research projects.
3. Reclassification and digitisation of all herbarium records of the former “Caryophyllaceae-Silenoideae” in order to promote, with the aid of digital indexing, the use of these objects in the context of various studies on the adaptation, diversity and evolution of flowering plants at ETH Zurich.

Synergies and context

1. Diatoms are single-celled algae that are used as bioindicators on account of their autecological characteristics. In the case of the Meister collection, the Swiss samples are, above all, of major importance for conservation authorities since, by way of example, they serve as reference conditions for evaluating bodies of water.
2. Digitisation of the “Gentianaceae” is a prerequisite for integrating the most important collection – worldwide – of “Chironieae” of Dr Louis Zeltner (Le Locle, canton of Neuchâtel), which was gifted to ETH Zurich in 2020.
3. Within the research group of Professor Alex Widmer (Department of Environmental Systems Science), the “Silene” and “Dianthus” species, which form just under 50% of the “Caryophyllaceae” holdings, serve as a model for the emergence of species, habitat adaptations and sex chromosomes in plants.

Time frame

The overall project is expected to run from 1 January 2022 until 31 December 2024; the funding for all subprojects is still being evaluated.

(Status as of 26 January 2022)