Background and Aims:

Herbaria safeguard dried plants, their specimens contain important information and can be consulted and used in various research endeavors, teaching, and botanical dissemination. Advances in computer science allow for the rapid sharing of information and assessing the condition of a plant collection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current state of the FEZA herbarium using the modified McGinley health index, and to identify the floristic contribution of the collection, by determining the states and years with the most collection records, compiling a catalogue of collectors and their list of vascular plants.

Methods:

A random sample of 446 specimens was used, representing 70% of the 20,204 records of vascular plants in the FEZA herbarium, and it was evaluated using eight criteria based on a modified proposal by McGinley and Villaseñor. Eight fields of the database were curated. The collection effort was recorded by the number of specimens collected in Mexico and the collection dates. Two catalogues were generated, one with the collectors with more than 100 records and another with the deposited species.

Key results:

The health index was 5.3. The collection effort was concentrated in the states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, and Oaxaca; the years with the most specimens were 2002 and 2008. There are 969 collectors, seven of whom have more than 500 specimens. The collection contains 5187 species of vascular plants.

Conclusions:

This study allowed for the determination of the current state of the collection, detecting problems in the handling of specimens and lost material, and updating the classification. Additionally, it offers a reference score for future comparisons. The FEZA herbarium recorded a greater collecting effort in Oaxaca; most of its records are from the present century. The collector and floristic catalogues will facilitate curatorial tasks.

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