Indiana University is seeking citizen-scientists throughout Indiana to help photograph all plant species that comprise the state's flora.
The 2021 Indiana Plant Photographic Scavenger Hunt is looking for help in documenting the more than 2,700 plant species in Indiana with colorful, detailed images. The IU Herbarium, which completed a massive, five-year digitization project in 2019, is upgrading its collection with photos of live plants from all over Indiana.
"The digitization project photographed our 161,000 herbarium specimens -- dead, dried plants mounted on paper. With the public's help, we want to gather beautiful photos of all Indiana's flora," said Eric Knox, director of the IU Herbarium and a senior scientist in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology. "Life under COVID-19 has left many people feeling isolated, and this project encourages them to put on their boots, grab their camera and be part of a socially distanced statewide effort."
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