The CTES Herbarium, a vital institution for plant diversity research and conservation in Argentina, is commemorating its 60th anniversary in 2025. Founded in 1965 at the National University of the Northeast in Corrientes, the herbarium has grown to become the third-largest in Argentina and a significant botanical center in South America.
The herbarium currently houses nearly 500,000 vascular plant specimens, alongside substantial collections of lichens, fungi, and bryophytes. These collections are crucial for the research activities of the Institute of Northeast Botany (IBONE-CONICET). The lichen collection, in particular, holds national importance, and the overall specimens are highly representative of the flora in northern Argentina and the wider South American region.
In anticipation of its 60th anniversary, the CTES Herbarium has launched an ambitious digitization project. As of February 2025, approximately 150,000 vascular plant samples, representing about 30% of its total holdings, have been digitized. This initiative aims to create a comprehensive digital catalog of Corrientes' flora, enhancing accessibility for research and conservation efforts and increasing global visibility.
Digitizing herbarium collections is a critical step in botanical research, ensuring the preservation of vital biological data for future study, education, and conservation. It facilitates global collaboration and the sharing of insights, making vast digital libraries of plant specimens accessible worldwide. This process not only aids in the preservation of physical specimens by reducing handling but also enables large-scale biodiversity data analysis. Institutions worldwide are undertaking similar digitization efforts to accelerate research and provide crucial historical data for conservation and management decisions.
Looking ahead, the CTES Herbarium is developing a "Virtual Herbarium" project. This initiative is designed to improve specimen conservation and provide global access to its collections. Through this virtual platform, researchers worldwide will be able to consult high-quality images and associated data, further solidifying the CTES Herbarium's key role in botanical science and the understanding of plant life.