I think that using coll numbers-when available- as base to create a standardize form could be a more straightforward way to proceed than create a full new system of codes. 😉

Yet these are the most readily available datum in most specimens to link several specimens unambiguously to a single collection event. This is what is needed to avoid multiplicity of records over databases.

There is a very old system of universal desambiguators, shared among all duplicates and generated at the moment of field collection: collector number. But these are often not being carefully curated in most databases, since modern curation prefers numerical barcodes.

Sparrows certainly like a sweet treat!

A must-see if you visit Boston and something any botanist should have the privilege to see at least once in their lives 😉

Details even in parts where no one would expect an artist to pay attention to: see the realistic look of these roots!

It is the pieces representing the most familiar plants where one can see the incredible exatitude of these models.

The models are not simply an artistic demonstration. They have a great didactic value: the plants represented are anatomically accurate, and the models contain scale-magnifications of relevant organs, tissue and floral pieces.

The collection is a handmade work performed by the Blaschkas (father and son) during the late 19th and early 20th Century. www.hmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers The collection contains >700 plant models from all major taxonomic groups.