Objective
This project sets the foundation for a more inclusive, theoretically sound, and socially just botany of the 21st century. Herbaria hold ca. 400 million preserved plant specimens worldwide. They are vital repositories of botanical and environmental knowledge. However, chronic underfunding has made much of this knowledge inaccessible. Recent digitization efforts for ‘virtual herbaria’ are believed to change this, as they expand accessibility and trigger new studies in herbarium genomics and AI-driven biodiversity and climate change research.
This project argues that while digitization is a welcome development, it alone cannot rejuvenate botany. This is due to several historical, epistemic and conceptual challenges that so-far botany has not addressed. They concern (1) epistemic biases in data inherited from botany’s colonial history, (2) conceptual and epistemic issues about integrating and sharing plant data, and (3) more generally, the lack of a firm theoretical framework for herbaria-driven research that can guide biodiversity efforts with historical awareness and conceptual precision. Through an account of integrated history and philosophy of science, this project will solve these problems by conceptualizing plant specimens in a novel way: as unique ‘knowledge hubs’ in which biological, environmental, historical, and socio-cultural knowledge is deeply entangled. These complex hubs link past injustices to today’s biases in collections, and epistemic and conceptual frameworks to future global goals. To untangle them, the project, first, uncovers past contributions of local and indigenous collectors by following traces of their plants in digital collections, and reveals patterns of epistemic injustice they faced. Second, it resolves epistemic and conceptual issues (e.g. of plant individuality) impacting the use of digital plant knowledge. Lastly, it establishes a philosophy of herbaria that links the history of local plant knowers with the future of big data botany.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences botany
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion philosophy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
44801 Bochum
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.