Keeper of records: Nonkululeko Ntshangase is in charge of SANBI’s Mass Digitisation Project.

The National Herbarium at Pretoria National Botanical Gardens houses about 1.3mn dried and pressed plant specimens, the largest collection in Southern Africa. Each specimen is mounted on a large cardboard sheet and labelled for scientific study, including the place and date of collection, scientific name, and collector’s name. These sheets are stored in filing cabinets at the herbarium, where they can be studied by researchers, ecologists and conservationists.

Now, with the help of a 9m by 2m conveyor belt imaging system, the entire collection is being digitised.