ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Virtual herbarium

Have you ever seen or heard of a herbarium? A herbarium is a place where people keep plants or plant parts for studying, like a big library but for plants instead of books. A virtual herbarium is kind of like that, but it's online and you don't actually have to go anywhere to see the plants.

So, let's say you have a really cool plant in your backyard that you want to learn more about. Normally, you would have to go to a herbarium where they keep plants to see if they have any similar plants to compare it to. But with a virtual herbarium, all you have to do is go online and search for the plant you're interested in! You can see pictures of what the plant looks like, where it grows, and even what it's used for.

The people who run the virtual herbarium take pictures of plants, collect information about them, and then put all of that information online so that anyone can access it from anywhere in the world. It's like having a whole world of plants at your fingertips! You can learn about new plants, study ones you're already familiar with, and even use them for research or just for fun.

So, the virtual herbarium is really helpful for people who are interested in plants but don't have access to a real herbarium, or for people who want to learn more about a specific plant without having to leave their house. It's a great way to learn about the natural world around us!
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