In line with the Scottish Government's Open Data Strategy, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is committed to making our research publications and associated data freely open and available for others to use and reuse.
We aim to make all RBGE scientific publications available on an Open-Access basis, either by publishing in an Open-Access or hybrid journal, or by adding a copy of the item to the Research Scotland repository. You can find links to many of our staff publications via our Google Scholar profile.
We are actively working towards compliance with the FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship, making our data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
Please access our scientific outputs and resources below:
Herbarium Catalogue
The RBGE Herbarium holds more than three million plant specimens collected since 1697. The RBGE Herbarium Catalogue provides free access to more than a million high resolution digital specimens from the Collection including all our Type Specimens.
Diamond Open Access Journals
Edinburgh Journal of Botany and Sibbaldia - International Journal of Botanic Garden Horticulture are both Open Access publications - free to publish in and to read and download.
Flora of Nepal
RBGE leads the coordination of an international partnership working to publish the Flora of Nepal, the first comprehensive account of the country's plant biodiversity. All Flora accounts, downloadable PDFs and images are free to access.
World Flora Online
RBGE is a founding partner of the World Flora Online, the world’s most comprehensive online catalogue of all known plants, created by a growing consortium of more than 50 organisations worldwide. The database provides a key tool for botanical research – the essential first step in the conservation and sustainable use of the Earth’s precious resources. Currently, RBGE is responsible for maintaining the WFO Plant List. This is the twice-yearly publication of a consensus classification of all vascular plants and bryophytes. It is a collaboration between over two hundred taxonomic experts from all over the world.
Specialist Datasets
We continue to provide free access to a wide range of expertly-curated searchable biodiversity data resources including data on taxa, geographic regions, botanical collections, and more.
Research Scotland Repository
RBGE is a founder partner of the Research Scotland repository that, where possible, provides access to freely available copies of journal articles, books, reports, theses and other research outputs. You can find RBGE's latest publications on the repository here.