- Visitors can observe this process in world’s first live viewing gallery for a herbarium digitalisation initiative
- Herbarium and Library premises to expand by 40 per cent each to house growing collections and improved research facilities
28 October 2025, Singapore – The Singapore Botanic Gardens (the Gardens) has commenced the Singapore Herbarium digitalisation initiative – its largest digitalisation effort to date to digitalise approximately 800,000 specimens in its collection. This is in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the Herbarium and 10th anniversary of the Gardens’ inscription as Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The public can observe the digitalisation process in a live viewing gallery, which offers the first-in-the-world showcase of this process in a working herbarium. At the viewing gallery, visitors can also walk through an exhibition, “Pressed in Pixels: Digitalising the Singapore Herbarium”, and participate in several hands-on activities to learn about the Herbarium’s work and have a close look at sample plant specimens. These activities are part of the Celebrations in our Parks and Gardens organised by the National Parks Board (NParks) in support of SG60.
To accommodate the Gardens’ growing collections of specimens, books, and botanical artwork, the premises of the Singapore Herbarium and the Gardens' Library of Botany and Horticulture will each be expanded by about 40 per cent. This will ensure not only sufficient space for all the collections in the next several decades but also improved research facilities in the Herbarium and allow more of the Library’s holdings to be made available for the public.
Opening of viewing gallery
The viewing gallery is open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays (excluding public holidays). It will offer a glimpse of the digitalisation process that is usually conducted behind closed doors. The public will be able to observe as specimens are unpacked from the bespoke Singapore Herbarium boxes, barcoded, placed on a conveyor belt and photographed, and then placed back into the boxes in the original order. All information captured on specimen labels, such as the collection date and location of each specimen, notes on the habitat, or vernacular names and uses, will be subsequently transcribed from the imaged specimens.
The exhibition, “Pressed in Pixels: Digitalising the Singapore Herbarium”, showcases the variety of specimens housed in the Singapore Herbarium, how plant specimens are made, why they are important, and how they are then transformed into digital copies. It also reinforces the message that plants are vital for our future, and that herbaria and botanists play a crucial role in understanding the diversity of plants, and in safeguarding the mechanisms to correctly identify and name plants.
There are hands-on activities suitable for the whole family, such as piecing together plant specimens using magnetic plant parts, playing with kaleidoscopes filled with seeds, leaves, and flowers, and viewing plant specimens under a magnifying lens to observe close-up characteristics that botanists look out for.
Singapore Herbarium digitalisation initiative
When completed in 2027, this will be the largest online database of specimens housed in Southeast Asia. Researchers and the public globally will be able to access high-resolution images and associated data of the Herbarium’s specimens, facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration. This will be valuable for a wide range of biodiversity-related research and conservation work, such as studying specimens not yet formally described for science or extinct species, as well as across other fields like pharmacology.
Within the Gardens, the vast amount of data from the digitalisation effort will allow the Gardens’ researchers to pinpoint potential gaps in specimen collection, identify areas for future research of native flora, and examine regional patterns of plant diversity. More information on the initiative can be found at https://go.gov.sg/pressed-in-pixels-digitalising-the-sing-herbarium.
The digitalisation effort is partly supported by donors through the Garden City Fund, NParks’ registered charity and Institution of a Public Character. Key donors include Aramco Singapore, Jo and Gerry Essery’s legacy gift, Mr Toh Lam Tiong and family, TikTok Singapore, Mr Ou Tsung Ming and Mrs Ou Chen Li Chin, ST Engineering, Mr Tan Jiew Hoe, Mr Chen Xi (Kevin), and Geneco.
The Guest-of-Honour, Minister of State for National Development Mr Alvin Tan joined key partners this evening to officially launch the digitalisation initiative by digitising the first specimens on the conveyor belt. These include a Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim (Vanda Miss Joaquim) specimen and a Singapore Ginger (Zingiber singapurense) specimen.
Aramco Singapore Managing Director Ms Fai K. Aldossary shared, “Aramco Singapore has been a proud partner of NParks since 2021. At Aramco, understanding and protecting ecological habitats is an important aspect of our culture. We are honoured to support NParks in their effort to ensure the long-term preservation of plant knowledge, and to advancing critical research and conservation efforts for future generations. The naming of the orchid hybrid Papilionanda Aramco is a testament to the flourishing partnership between Aramco and the Garden City Fund that is built on the shared value of environment stewardship.”
To accommodate the Gardens’ growing collections of specimens, the premises of the Singapore Herbarium will be expanded by about 40 per cent. Besides making space for an additional 300,000 specimens, the Herbarium expansion will improve facilities for specimen processing and research, such as an expanded drying room, a separate freezing room, and more spaces and equipment for both local and international researchers to compare and study the specimens.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens Library of Botany and Horticulture, currently located beside the Herbarium, will also be expanded by about 40 per cent. The new layout will increase storage and display capacity for its growing print resources and archival collections and allow more of the Library’s holdings to be made available for public reference use. This expansion, along with the Library’s digitalisation of its Archives collection, will enhance access to the collections built up over the past 150 years. Both the Herbarium and Library expansion works are estimated to complete in 2030.
Supporting the Singapore Herbarium
The Gardens welcomes support from organisations and individuals who wish to contribute towards the digitalisation effort. Members of the public can make donations to adopt plant specimens or plant families at https://go.gov.sg/donateherbarium. Donors will be acknowledged on an online database, which highlights the specimens they have adopted. Organisations interested in corporate partnerships can also contact the Garden City Fund at garden_city_fund@nparks.gov.sg.
The Gardens has released a limited-edition Herbarium collectable for donors who contribute $1,000 and more to the Herbarium through the fundraising campaign ‘Herbarium in your Pocket’. The collectable comes with a preserved specimen from the iconic Tembusu (Cyrtophyllum fragrans) tree featured on Singapore’s $5 note. Collected and mounted by hand by the Gardens’ staff, each specimen is complete with a plant label and a serialised collection number. The ink used for the serial numbers was also crafted from the same tree by local botanical inkmaking studio Wild Dot. The design of the collectable was contributed by McCann Worldgroup Singapore, while the $5 notes were donated by Hong Leong Asia Ltd.
Proceeds will support the digitalisation and expansion of the Singapore Herbarium. There are only 1,000 collectables available which will be released in batches. The donations qualifying for this collectable can be made at https://go.gov.sg/herbariuminyourpocket.
Launch of special issue of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine featuring the Gardens
As part of the commemoration of the Gardens’ anniversaries this year, a special issue of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, the world’s longest running botanical periodical1 , was published in August 2025. The special issue highlights a curated selection of tropical plants that are significant to the Gardens, including plants from tropical families such as the Dipterocarpaceae which have not been featured in the periodical to date. The open access issue is available online at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14678748/2025/42/2.
These collective efforts will help conserve and share about our rich heritage for future generations to enjoy as Singapore transforms into a City in Nature.
- End -
1 Founded in 1787, Curtis's Botanical Magazine is the world’s longest running, continuously published botanical periodical featuring original colour illustrations of plants. It is published for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by Wiley.
A Singapore Government Agency WebsiteHow to identify
) or https:// as an added precaution. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Related news
