h ps://doi.o g/10.1093/aob/mca 062, a ailable online a www.academic.oup.com/aob
INVITED REVIEW
Wikida a o bo anis s: bene i s o collabo a ing and sha ing Linked Open Da a
Sabine on Me ing1,*,, Siobhan Leachman2,, Joaquim San os3, and Heidi M. Meud 4,
1Museum ü Na u kunde - Leibniz Ins i u e o E olu ion and Biodi e si y Science, 10115 Be lin, Ge many, 2Independen
esea che , Welling on, 6021, New Zealand, 3Cen e o Func ional Ecology, Depa men o Li e Sciences, Uni e si y o
Coimb a, 3000-456 Coimb a, Po ugal, and 4Museum o New Zealand Te Papa Tonga ewa, Welling on, 6011, New Zealand
*Fo co espondence. E-mail sabine[email p o ec ed]
Recei ed: 21 Decembe 2024 Re u ned o e ision: 17 Ma ch 2025 Accep ed: 13 May 2025
• Backg ound Wikida a is a mul ilingual linked open knowledge base o which anyone can con ibu e ha
con ains mul i udes o bo any- ela ed in o ma ion. Wikida a e eals in e ac ions be ween en i ies and connec s
bo any- ela ed in o ma ion om mul iple ins i u ions and o he sou ces, bene i ing he bo anical communi y in
nume ous ways. The aim o his a icle is o gi e an o e iew o Wikida a om a bo any pe spec i e and issue a
call o ac ion o he bo anical communi y o collec i ely imp o e he quan i y and quali y o in o ma ion ela ed o
bo any, bo anis s and bo anical collec ions, in Wikida a. He e, we use a b oad de ini ion o bo any o include he
s udy o many di e en axa and specializa ions.
• Scope Wikida a con ains bo any- ela ed da a and iden i ie s o bo anis s and bo anical collec o s, bo anical
axa, na u al his o y ins i u ions and collec ions, bo any- ela ed publica ions, geog aphical loca ions and esea ch
expedi ions, as well as genes, gene ic a ian s, chemical compounds, diseases, and mo e. As an open, collabo a-
i e and communi y-cu a ed knowledge base, Wikida a enables di e en communi ies o add and link da a ela ed
o bo any and empowe s he que ying and euse o his da a ia digi al ools such as he Wikida a Que y Se ice,
Bionomia, Scholia, TL-2 and Expedi ia.
• Conclusions Collabo a ion is key in bo any and Wikida a, and he sha ing and en iching o bo any- ela ed
Linked Open Da a bene i s us all. Se e al esou ces, including e hical and legal guidelines, a e a ailable o bo an-
is s o edi , use, euse, ound ip and each Wikida a. We call on all bo anis s o be ac i e pa icipan s in Wikida a,
imp o ing he quali y, quan i y and linking o bo any- ela ed da a. Ou indi idual and collec i e ac ions can help
ha ness he powe o Linked Open Da a o answe impo an que ies in he ield, imp o e accessibili y o he ba ia,
inc ease isibili y o bo anis s and hei scien i ic con ibu ions, in eg a e Wikida a in o he class oom, suppo he
Mad id Decla a ion s a egic ac ions, achie e ou collec i e goals, and ul ima ely make bo any- ela ed in o ma ion
mo e FAIR (Findable, Accessible, In e ope able, Reusable) and equi able.
Key wo ds: Biodi e si y da a, Bionomia, bo anis s, collabo a ion, digi al ou each, digi al ools, he ba ia, iden i-
ie , knowledge g aph, Linked Open Da a (LOD), open science, Wikida a.
INTRODUCTION
Wikida a (Q2013) is a ool used o link da a abou many hings.
The ollowing bo anical s o y indica es how Wikida a can assis
in p o iding con ex and enable he linking o bo anical da a.
The amous F ench bo anis and explo e Augus e de Sain -
Hilai e (Q707961) collec ed many specimens h oughou his
li e. Be ween 1816 and 1821 he explo ed B azil (Q155), whe e
he collec ed a specimen om which he desc ibed a new species
o science: Oxalis insipida A.S .-Hil. (Q39395060; h ps://www.
gbi .o g/occu ence/438235985). In 1832, Cha les Da win
(Q1035), a elling aboa d HMS Beagle (Q35926), s opped a
he Island o Fe nando de No onha, B azil (Q2438090). Among
his collec ions was a specimen o Oxalis L. ha was used many
yea s la e by Daniel Oli e (Q1161960) o publish a new species
in William Jackson Hooke ’s Icones Plan a um (Q5901658):
Oxalis no onhae Oli . (Q131343589; h ps://www.gbi .o g/oc-
cu ence/4951949000). Mo e han a cen u y la e , he F anco-
A gen inian bo anis Alicia Lou eig (Q454806) held his
specimen in he hands and concluded ha i was he same species
as he Sain -Hilai e specimen, as we can see by he de e min-
a ion slip (Q131467875) om 1957. In ac , in he e ision o
he genus Oxalis (Q157378) (Lou eig, 1994), Lou eig eclas-
si ied his axon as a subspecies o Oxalis pso aleoides Kun h
(Q131350563), a species desc ibed by Ca l Sigismund Kun h
© The Au ho (s) 2025. Published by Ox o d Uni e si y P ess on behal o he Annals o Bo any Company.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/
by/4.0/), which pe mi s un es ic ed euse, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
Annals o Bo any
136: 491–511, 2025
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s
2
(Q77074) in 1821 in he jou nal Denksch i en de Königlichen
Akademie de Wissenscha en zu München (Q20014480) based
on a specimen collec ed by Alexande on Humbold (Q6694)
and Aimé Bonpland (Q405702) in Colombia (Q739) du ing
hei amous expedi ion o Ame ica be ween 1799 and 1804
(Q130639025; h ps://www.gbi .o g/occu ence/694191712).
Mo e ecen ly, phylogene ic s udies ha e p o ided new insigh s
in o he e olu ion and ela ionships in his g oup. A ecen mo-
lecula phylogene ic s udy o Oxalis subg. Thamnoxys (Endl.)
Reiche (Q21382429) (which includes O. pso aleoides subsp.
insipida (A.S .-Hil.) Lou eig, Q111323930) showed ha he
adi ional axonomic a angemen did no ma ch gene ics
(Cab al e al., 2024). I is wo h men ioning ha , ollowing
s anda d p ac ice, all DNA sequences om ha s udy a e a ail-
able in GenBank (Q901755) o o he s o use (Na ional Lib a y
o Medicine, 2025). Sea ching he li e a u e, one lea ns ha he
lowe s o O. pso aleoides ha e been isi ed by bo h he hum-
mingbi d Chlo os ilbon lucidus (Q1262955; Las-Casas e al.,
2012) and he honeybee Apis melli e a (Q30034; Nascimen o e
al., 2014). The species is also used as ood by h ee u al com-
muni ies in he s a e o Pe nambuco, B azil (Q40942; Lucena e
al., 2007), and is ci ed as a adi ional an imala ial (Q521616)
in Pe u (Q419; Milliken e al., 2021).
This s o y illus a es wha we can lea n when we s a
pulling he h ead ha cons i u es he ne wo k o knowledge.
All hese explo e s, expedi ions, bo anis s, scien is s, spe-
cies and places—in sho , all hese en i ies (Q35120)—a e
connec ed wi h each o he (Fig. 1). Simila ly, he e is a huge
amoun o bo any- ela ed in o ma ion ha has been published
o e cen u ies ha con ains hidden connec ions be ween such
en i ies. Much o his ex ual in o ma ion is made a ailable
on he in e ne in a digi al o ma . This in o ma ion is usually
uns uc u ed, and hence is siloed, lacking in con ex , and no
in e ope able. In addi ion, in o ma ion in di e en biodi e si y
da abases as well as digi al lib a ies is o en no linked (e.g.
Thomas, 2009; Page, 2022, 2023). Despi e pla o ms, p ojec s,
ini ia i es and indi iduals a emp ing o ec i y his p oblem
(e.g. Plazi, Q7203726; Agos i and Eglo , 2009; Biodi e si y
He i age Lib a y, BHL, Q172266), he e is s ill a long way o
go.
Nume ous pla o ms exis ha publish bo anical da a and
o he bo any- ela ed in o ma ion, including BHL, Global
Biodi e si y In o ma ion Facili y (GBIF, Q1531570), Global
Regis y o Scien i ic Collec ions (GRSciColl, Q98594614),
Index o Plan Ch omosome Numbe s (IPCN, Q131378293),
In e na ional Plan Names Index (IPNI, Q922063),
Q6694
Ca l Sigismund
Kun h
eeds on nec a
synonym
synonym
synonymized
synonymized
eclassi ied
eeds on nec a
eed on
use as an imala ial
desc ibed
desc ibed
desc ibed
collec ed
collec ed
collec ed
collec ed
subspecies o
species o
Alexande
on Humbold
Apis melli e a
Chlo os ilbon
lucidus
Ru al
communi ies Oxalis subg.
Thamnoxys GenBank
Aimé
Bonpland
Alicia Lou eig
Daniel Oli e
Cha les
Da win
Oxalis
pso aleoides
ssp. insipida
Oxalis
no onhae
Oxalis
pso aleoides
Oxalis insipida
Augus e de
Sain -Hilai e
Q77074
Q30034
Q1262955
Q104711361
Q21382429
Q131350563
Q111323930
Q405702
Q454806
Q1161960
Q1035
Q707961
Q131343589
Q39395060
Q901755
has sequences o
Fig. 1. Knowledge g aph o en i ies linked o Oxalis pso aleoides subsp. insipida (Q131350563) (A. S .-Hil.) Lou eig desc ibed in he abo e bo anical s o y.
A ailable online a h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:Fig_1_Oxalis_pso aleoides_ssp._insipida_Knowledge_G aph.jpg, Joaquim San os, CC0 (h ps://
c ea i ecommons.o g/publicdomain/ze o/1.0/) ia Wikimedia Commons.
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s 3
Palynological Da abase (PalDa , Q59786289), TRY Plan
T ai Da abase (Q113391569), Wo ld Flo a Online (WFO,
Q77076820), and so on. Howe e , hei scope ends o be ela-
i ely speci ic. Fu he mo e, hese pla o ms a e no always
in eg a ed and can ail o include app op ia ely s uc u ed and
sea chable connec ions o b oade ye ele an in o ma ion.
Such ele an in o ma ion abou bo anis s migh include hei
employe s and o he ca ee de ails, collabo a o s, geog aphical
placemen s o kin ela ionships; abou bo any- ela ed publica-
ions such as disambigua ed au ho s, publishing jou nals o pa-
pe s ha ha e been ci ed in he publica ion; and abou axa such
as publica ions gi ing he o iginal desc ip ion, images o he
axon, geog aphical ange o axon ai s.
Wikida a can assis wi h ackling his issue o uns uc u ed
and unlinked da a. By c ea ing o en iching con en on Wikida a,
his knowledge base can be used o ans o m uns uc u ed da a
in o a s uc u ed o ma , wi h alues assigned o p ede ined
ields. Publishing in o ma ion in Wikida a ensu es i is indable,
able o be accessed, in e ope able ( he s uc u e ollows a docu-
men ed s anda d), and obs acle- ee wi h ega d o euse (li-
censing), hus p og essing owa ds achie ing compliance wi h
FAIR p inciples (Findabili y, Accessibili y, In e ope abili y,
and Reuse o digi al asse s, Q29032644; Wilkinson e al.,
2016). By empowe ing he bo anical and b oade communi ies
o wo k oge he o collabo a i ely c ea e Linked Open Da a
(LOD, Q18692990), Wikida a can ans o m siloed da a in o
in e ope able knowledge, linking and connec ing hese da a and
hus ensu ing his knowledge is accessible and eusable.
Once added o Wikida a, he in o ma ion is ans o med
in o Linked Open Da a as he da a a e a ailable in RDF
dumps (Resou ce Desc ip ion F amewo k; Be ne s-Lee, 2006;
E xleben e al., 2014; Wikida a, 2025a; Fig. 2). This in u n
opens a wo ld o possibili ies. I is wo h men ioning ha
Wikida a was no buil speci ically o bo any o any o he ield.
Wikida a was o iginally designed o o e come he di icul ies
o accessing da a in mul iple-language Wikipedia a icles and
was in ended o p o ide a cen al eposi o y empowe ing ac-
cess and he abili y o euse hese da a (V andečić e al., 2023).
The use o Wikida a has subsequen ly been adop ed by mul-
iple scien i ic and humani ies disciplines (Waagmees e e al.,
2020, 2021; Lemus-Rojas e al., 2022; Zhao, 2023; Sha ee e
al., 2023; Kaise and on Me ing, 2024; Ma os e al., 2024;
Tu ki e al., 2024).
Wikida a is a sis e p ojec o he well-known online encyclo-
paedia Wikipedia (Q52), and bo h a e pla o ms o he Wikimedia
Founda ion. The housands o indi iduals h oughou he wo ld
who edi in his so-called Wiki e se (Q130313479) a e called
Wikimedians (Q41546637). Since i s launch in 2012, Wikida a
Use Gene a ed
Li e Science
Publica ions
C oss Domain
Go e nmen
Geog aphy
Linguis ics
Media
Social Ne wo king
O he
Fig. 2. Wikida a in he Linked Open Da a Cloud. Da abases a e indica ed as ci cles (wi h Wikida a labelled as ‘WD’), wi h g ey lines linking da abases in he ne -
wo k i hei da a a e linked. (Layou by g aphop algo i hm in he ig aph package in R. Da a om h ps://lod-cloud.ne /da ase s. Tex and image a ailable online
a h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:Wikida a_in_ he_Linked_Open_Da a_cloud.jpg, Thomas Sha ee, CC BY 4.0 (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/
by/4.0), ia Wikimedia Commons. A sea chable e sion o he same cloud can be ound he e: h ps://lod-cloud.ne /clouds/lod-cloud.s g.
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s
4
has been popula ed wi h a wide a ie y o da a by indi idual
Wikida a edi o s, who numbe ~25 000 wo ldwide (see h ps://
www.wikida a.o g/wiki/Wikida a:S a is ics, da e las accessed,
15 May 2025). Today, Wikida a comp ises >100 million i ems
om all ields o knowledge (Sha ee e al., 2023). O hese, >12
million a e people (see Wikida a que y h ps://w.wiki/CU2w,
da e las accessed 15 May 2025; Fig. 3), wi h 68 755 lis ed as
ha ing hei occupa ion (P106) as bo anis (Q2374149) (see
Wikida a que y h ps://w.wiki/CTZA, da e las accessed, 15
May 2025). Simila ly, he e a e cu en ly abou 4.1 million axa
(Fig. 3) including 3.2 million species in Wikida a (see Wikida a
que y h ps://w.wiki/CS4k, da e las accessed 15 May 2025),
and o hese, o example, ~730 000 a e angiospe m species
names (h ps://w.wiki/CUZn).
Wi h he s uc u ed bo any- ela ed da a al eady a ailable in
Wikida a, which i sel is only a ac ion o he o al po en ial
da a ha can be linked in Wikida a, i is possible o e eal in e -
ac ions ha can help expand bo any- ela ed knowledge. This
expansion would be e y di icul o achie e wi hou he help
o ools ha que y and display such da a (Figs 2–4). Bo any-
ela ed da a in Wikida a can also eed in o he biodi e si y
knowledge g aph (Waagmees e e al., 2020; Page, 2022), a
ne wo k o linked biodi e si y da a ha isualizes he digi al
linking possible be ween di e en biodi e si y- ela ed en i ies
(Page, 2013; Fig. 5).
The cu en a icle is he esul o an in e na ional collab-
o a ion o he ou co-au ho s ( h ee o whom a e bo an-
is s and all o whom a e Wikimedians) and hei ac i i ies a
he XX In e na ional Bo anical Cong ess (IBC) in Mad id,
Spain, in July 2024 (see h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/
Wikida a:WikiP ojec _IBC_2024, da e las accessed, 15
May 2025). Ou con ibu ions included o ganizing a ull day
in-pe son wo kshop en i led, ‘Upskilling in Wikida a o max-
imum impac : A p ac ical wo kshop o bo anis s’ ( oge he
wi h online onboa ding and ollow-up sessions) and a pos e
en i led, ‘Engaging wi h Wikida a: Bene i s and impac s o
bo anis s and ins i u ions’ ( on Me ing e al., 2024a; Fig. 6),
as well as addi ional p esen a ions and pos e s on o he p o-
jec s ha use Wikida a. All hese con ibu ions highligh ed he
alue o Wikida a in bo anical esea ch, encou aged bo anis s o
con ibu e o Wikida a, and led o he collabo a i e w i ing and
publica ion o his a icle.
GETTING TO KNOW WIKIDATA
Wikida a is a mul ilingual, linked, ee and open knowledge
base ha is communi y-cu a ed and main ained; anyone can
con ibu e o i (e.g. V andečić and K ö zsch, 2014; Sha ee e
al., 2023). While i s sis e p ojec Wikipedia comp ises pages
desc ibing people, places and many o he hings (en i ies) as
w i en p ose in essay-s yle ex s, Wikida a is a da abase ha
p o ides s uc u ed da a on such en i ies as a lis o e e enced
s a emen s. The ‘pages’ on Wikida a o each en i y a e called
i ems, and each i em has a unique iden i ie ha s a s wi h he
le e Q, he Wikida a Q iden i ie , also known as Wikida a
QID o Q numbe (Q43649390; Fig. 7), as well as a label and
a desc ip ion (Fig. 7; see also h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/
Wikida a:Glossa y o de ini ions o hese and o he Wikida a
e ms).
A he op o each i em, bo h he i em label and desc ip-
ion can be gi en in mul iple languages. All da a on Wikida a
is s uc u ed acco ding o a da a model ha uses iple s
in ol ing he subjec (Wikida a i em Q16222597) + p edica e
(Wikida a p ope y Q18616576) + objec ( alue). Fo example,
a sen ence like ‘Alicia Lou eig is a bo anis ’. would be ep e-
sen ed in Wikida a as an i em (Alicia Lou eig) ha has a s a e-
men which consis s o a p ope y (in his case occupa ion) and
a alue (he e bo anis ; see Q454806). S a emen s can be u he
speci ied by so-called quali ie s (Q15720608), e.g. o an ins i-
u ion she wo ked o (employe , P108) o add quali ie s s a
ime (P580) and end ime (P582) as well as posi ion held (P39).
Each i em will ha e mul iple s a emen s (Fig. 7). Wikida a al-
lows and encou ages he e e encing o he sou ce o he da a,
Schola ly a icle
Human
As onomical objec
Wikimedia Ca ego y
Taxon
Chemical compound
Adminis a i e e i o ial en i y
Occu ence
A chi ec u al s uc u e
Disambig
Tho ough a e
O he /None
Fig. 3. Visualiza ion o all Wikida a con en as a 8 Ap il 2024, gene a ed using da a om QLe e SPARQL que ies o ins ance o (P31) and subclasses. A ailable
online a : h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:Wikida a_con en _2024.s g, VIGNERON, CC0 1.0 (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/publicdomain/ze o/1.0/
deed.en), ia Wikimedia Commons.
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s 5
and e e ences o publica ions, websi es o o he Wikida a i ems
a e shown oge he wi h s a emen s con ained in he da abase
(Fig. 7).
As well as Q iden i ie s o Wikida a i ems and P iden i ie s
o Wikida a p ope ies, Wikida a also has wo o he iden i ie s,
L o lexemes and E o en i y schemas (Sha ee e al., 2023;
Mo shed, 2024). Lexemes p ecisely de ine wo ds, hei in lec-
ions, meanings and o he such me ada a (Nielsen, 2019). By
adding lexemes o Wikida a, s uc u ed me ada a abou wo ds
and hei meaning in a ious languages become eusable in
ools and que ies (Sha ee e al., 2023). Lexemes a e ele an
o bo any as hey empowe dis inc scien i ic e ms o be ad-
equa ely de ined in mul iple languages. En i y schemas p o ide
models o how da a should be added o en iched in Wikida a
o a ious en i ies. They help ensu e da a a e added in a con-
sis en manne and assis wi h acili a ing communi y ag ee-
men on app op ia e da a models o be used (Sha ee e al.,
2023; Mo shed, 2024).
Wikida a is mul ilingual by design and can be ead and
edi ed by bo h machines and humans; in ac , anyone can con-
ibu e o Wikida a and make use o he da a ha a e s o ed
he e. The da a a e openly licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
Ze o 1.0 Uni e sal licence (CC0, h ps://c ea i ecommons.
o g/publicdomain/ze o/1.0/, da e las accessed, 15 May 2025)
and hus can be eused wi hou es ic ion. Impo an ly, he
Wikida a QID ac s as an iden i ie hub linking o o he ins i u-
ions’ da abases and in o ma ion om o he sou ces and pla -
o ms ia hei iden i ie s (G oom e al., 2020). In his way,
he Wikida a QID has become a uni e sal iden i ie . Because o
his, he e is g ea po en ial o ‘ ound ipping’ da a wi h o he
Fig. 4. Visualiza ion o global da a o he ba ia o he wo ld, gene a ed using a que y in he Wikida a Que y Se ice (h ps://w.wiki/CU4 ). No e his que y as-
sumes ha i ems o he ba ia will ha e geog aphical coo dina es on hem, bu as o Decembe 2024 only 106 Wikida a i ems o he ba ia ha e coo dina es. The
he ba ium i sel (no jus i s hos ins i u ion) mus ha e a Wikida a i em wi h geog aphical coo dina es o be included in his que y. This isualiza ion highligh s no
only he lack o sepa a e Wikida a i ems o he ba ia ha include coo dina es (wi h only ~3 % ep esen ed o a o al o 3400; Thie s, 2025) bu also a gap in Global
Sou h ins i u ions. Bo h would be s aigh o wa d o he bo anical communi y o ix by adding he missing in o ma ion o Wikida a. A ailable online a : h ps://
commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:Wikida a_que y_he ba ia_o _ he_Wo ld.jpg, Wikimedia Founda ion, CC BY-SA 4.0 (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/
by-sa/4.0/deed.en), ia Wikimedia Commons.
images
specimens
people
publica ions
jou nals
axon
names
axa
ai s
phylogenies
sequences
locali ies
Fig. 5. Biodi e si y knowledge g aph om Page (2013) showing he ela-
ionships (as g ey o black lines) be ween bo anis s, publica ions, plan axa
and o he bo any- ela ed da a. A ailable online a h ps://commons.wikimedia.
o g/wiki/File:Biodi e si y_knowledge_g aph_by_Rod_Page.jpg, Rod Page,
CC BY 4.0 (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0), ia Wikimedia
Commons.
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s
6
Fig. 6. The pos e ‘Engaging wi h Wikida a: Bene i s and impac s o bo anis s and ins i u ions’ ( on Me ing e al., 2024a; h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.11102530)
p esen ed a he XX In e na ional Bo anical Cong ess in Mad id, Spain in July 2024, which led o he collabo a i e w i ing and e en ual publica ion o his a icle.
A ailable online a h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:IBC2024_Wikida a_pos e .jpg, Sabine on Me ing, Siobhan Leachman, Joaquim San os and Heidi
Meud , CC BY 4.0 (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0), ia Wikimedia Commons.
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s 7
in e na ional biodi e si y and bo anical da abases (e.g. BHL,
2025; GBIF, 2025; IPNI, 2025; T opicos, 2025; WFO, 2025).
Wikida a con ains bo any- ela ed da a such as da a on bo -
anis s and bo anical collec o s, bo anical axa, na u al his o y
ins i u ions and collec ions, bo any- ela ed publica ions, geo-
g aphical loca ions and esea ch expedi ions. Wikida a can
also con ain o he da a ela ed o bo any, such as genes, gene ic
a ian s, chemical compounds, na u al p oduc s and diseases
(Waagmees e e al., 2020). And because hese da a a e linked,
Wikida a can be an ex emely powe ul ool o que ying and
isualizing bo h he da a and he linkages be ween hem. Fo
example, a Wikida a que y can show us on a map how many
bo anis s (o he ba ia, Fig. 4; o species) he e a e in he wo ld
(o a pa icula coun y), p o ide lis s o esea ch pape s abou
a pa icula opic, o allow us o quickly ind all he a ailable
iden i ie s associa ed wi h a pa icula axon o pe son.
Wikida a i ems and hei associa ed da a can also be used
by hi d-pa y ools o websi es such as Bionomia (Sho house,
2020a, b) o isualize he collec ions o a pa icula (de-
ceased) bo anical collec o , linking hem o ins i u ions, lo-
cali ies, co-collec o s, plan axa, esea ch and pape s ( o
li ing collec o s, ins ead o Wikida a QIDs Bionomia uses
ORCID, Open Resea che and Con ibu o Iden i ie ; ORCID,
2024). Bo anical esea ch expedi ions can be isualized (using
Expedi ia; San os, 2024), as can bo anis collabo a o ne wo ks
(using Scholia; Neilsen e al., 2017).
O cou se, he esul s o such que ies depend en i ely on he
comple eness o he in o ma ion in Wikida a. He e, we use a
Claim : I em – P ope y – Value
I emP ope y Value
Ynes Mexia occupa ion bo anis
Q2600470 P106
label
desc ip ion
I em
iden i ie
aliases
alue
opened
e e ence
collapsed
e e ence
alue
p ope
y
p ope y
iden i ie
g oup
s a emen
g oup
ank
Q2374149
Fig. 7. An anno a ed Wikida a i em exempli ying di e en pa s o Wikida a, using he Mexican–Ame ican bo anis Ynes Mexia (1870–1938) as an example. A ailable
online a h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:Ynes_Mexia_Wikida a_i em_example.jpg, Makenzie Mab y, CC BY-SA 4.0 (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/li-
censes/by-sa/4.0), ia Wikimedia Commons). Fo de ini ions o some Wikida a e ms, see h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/Wikida a:Glossa y.
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s
8
b oad de ini ion o bo any o include he s udy o many di -
e en axa ( ascula plan s, non- ascula plan s, algae, ungi
and lichens) and specializa ions (e.g. axonomy, gene ics,
mo phology, physiology, ecology, bio echnology, e hno-
bo any, phy ochemis y, e c.). A he momen , mos o he e o
and bo any- ela ed da a in Wikida a ela es o axonomy and
collec ions-based da a, bu he e is g ea po en ial o enhance
Wikida a in o he aspec s o bo any now and in u u e. The e
a e many ways ha we bo anis s can wo k o imp o e he quan-
i y and quali y o in o ma ion ela ed o bo any, bo anis s and
bo anical collec ions in Wikida a. The main aim o his a icle
is o p o ide he backg ound, p ac icali ies and jus i ica ion o
doing so, and a call o ac ion o each o us, and o he bo anical
communi y as a whole, o collec i ely make his happen.
BOTANY-RELATED DATA IN WIKIDATA
Wikida a comp ises i ems o a a ie y o di e en en i ies. This
sec ion ocuses on in o ma ion abou such en i ies ela ed o
bo any as people, axa, publica ions, ins i u ions, loca ions and
esea ch expedi ions.
People
The Wikida a QID has been ecommended by Biodi e si y
In o ma ion S anda ds (TDWG, 2025) as an app op ia e iden-
i ie o use when disambigua ing bo anis s and bo anical
collec o s. The basis o his ecommenda ion was ha Wikida a
p o ides a unique iden i ie o bo anis s and ac s as a da abase
hub assis ing wi h he linking o iden i ie s gene a ed by dis-
pa a e o ganiza ions (G oom e al., 2022).
Wikida a i ems ela ing o bo h deceased and li ing bo anis s
and bo anical collec o s can con ain biog aphical da a, such as
hei bi h name (P1477), name in na i e language (P1559),
da e o bi h (P569), da e o dea h (P570), employe (P108)
and ins i u ions hey we e educa ed a (P69) (Fig. 8). Wikida a
also colla es mul iple ins i u ional iden i ie s ela ing o people
on hei i ems such as BHL c ea o ID (P4081), Bionomia ID
(P6944), Ha a d Index o Bo anis s ID (P6264), IPNI au ho
ID (P586), ORCID iD (P496), T opicos pe son ID (P12807)
and VIAF clus e ID (P214), among o he s. In doing so,
Wikida a no only links he i em o he ele an ex e nal ins i u-
ions, i also p o ides a b idge o ‘b oke age sys em’ be ween
di e en ins i u ions’ knowledge abou ha pe son (G oom e
al., 2020). This can include ins i u ions ha hold he a chi es,
collec ions o wo ks o ha bo anis , bo anical collec o o bo-
anical illus a o .
By unde aking his linking, Wikida a assis s wi h he dis-
ambigua ion o bo anis s and bo anical collec o s, and acili-
a es he colla ion and en ichmen o da a known abou hese
people. This is especially c i ical o unde - ep esen ed bo an-
is s (Lemus-Rojas and Lee, 2020; Leachman and Mab y, 2024),
including women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous and People o
Colou (BIPOC) and o he mino i ies, as well as local o in-
digenous collec o s, guides and in e p e e s, pa icula ly hose
Bo anis i em p ope ies
Bo anis
i em
Q2374149
Wikida a:Li ing People
Wikida a que y
Wikida a p ope ies ela ed o
people
Wikida a:Au obiog aphy
no able wo k
P800 membe o
P463
esidence
P551
ield o wo k
P101 posi ion held
P39
wo k loca ion
P937
employe
P108
occupa ion
P106 ins ance o
P31
sex o gende
P21
gi en name
P735
amily name
P734
ma ied name
P2562
bi h name
P1477 sho name
P1813
nickname
P1449
name in na i e language
P1559
copy igh s a us as a c ea o
P7763
con ibu ed o c ea i e wo k
P3919
coun y o ci izenship
P27
in e es ed in
P2650
has w i en o
P6872
awa d ecei ed
P166
doc o al s uden
P185
pa icipan in
P1344
academic hesis
P1026
a ilia ion s ing
P6424
academic deg ee
P512
s uden
P802
s uden o
P1066
educa ed a
P69
doc o al ad iso
P184
in luenced by
P737
eligion o wo ld iew
P140
membe o poli ical pa y
P102
collec ion i ems a
P11146
has wo ks in he collec ion
P6379
o icial websi e
P856
a chi es a
P485
a ilia ion
P1416
di e en om
P1889
desc ibed a URL
P973
signi ican pe son
P3342
spouse
P26
unma ied pa ne
P451
ela i e
P1038
sibling
P3373
a he
P22
child
P40 mo he
P25
da e o bap ism
P1636
lo ui
P1317
da e o dea h
P570
place o dea h
P20
w i ing language
P6886
signa u e
P109
na i e language
P103
handw i ing example
P12981
image
P18
named a e
P138
bo anis au ho abb e ia ion
P428
languages spoken, w i en o signed
P1412
da e o bi h
P569
place o bi h
P19
place o bu ial
P119
desc ibed by sou ce
P1343
Fig. 8. Visualiza ion o a Wikida a da a model o a bo anis , including o e 60 examples o Wikida a p ope ies (no including iden i ie s) ha can be used on
bo anis i ems in Wikida a. A ailable online a h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:Bo anis _i em_p ope ies_diag am_10_Dec.jpg, Siobhan Leachman and
Heidi Meud , CC0 (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/publicdomain/ze o/1.0/) ia Wikimedia Commons. A hype linked pd e sion o he same igu e can be ound
he e: h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:Bo anis _i em_p ope ies_diag am_10_Dec.pd .
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s 9
om he Global Sou h (Auge e al., 2024). Building up he
Wikida a i ems o unde - ep esen ed bo anis s can be a i s
s ep owa ds agg ega ing e i iable, eliable, independen
sou ces o achie e he no abili y c i e ia o c ea ing Wikipedia
a icles abou hem (Ma ini, 2023). In addi ion, knowing who
we a e as a bo anical communi y will allow us o connec , col-
labo a e and u ilize ou human di e si y.
Wikida a can link people o da a such as hei occupa ions,
ield o wo k, educa ional in o ma ion, employmen his o y,
wo k loca ions, scien i ic academy o socie y membe ships and
oles, a chi al and collec ion eposi o ies, and publica ions ( on
Me ing e al., 2024b). Di e en p o essions, posi ions and spe-
cializa ions can be added o he Wikida a p ope y occupa ion
(P106). A ypical Wikida a i em o someone ac i e in bo any
could include occupa ion as bo anis (Q2374149), bo anical
collec o (Q2083925) o cu a o (Q674426) among o he s,
while some o hese could also be added ins ead as a quali-
ie , e.g. posi ion held lis ed as cu a o o edi o (Q1607826)
o a ce ain employe . Fo his o ical bo anis s addi ional in-
o ma ion may also be included unde occupa ion, including
explo e , na u alis o (in colonial con ex s) colonial admin-
is a o o mili a y pe sonnel ( on Me ing e al., 2024b). In
addi ion, he p ope y signi ican pe son (P3342) can be used
o connec o ele an pe sons and add he quali ie objec
o s a emen has ole (P3831) speci ying hei ela ionship,
e.g. co-au ho (Q15735983), co-collec o (Q81546212), col-
league (Q18029574), co esponden (Q3589290) o iend
(Q17297777) ( on Me ing e al., 2024b). These da a can hen
be used o c ea e a ela ionship ne wo k o he bo anis o bo-
anical collec o . O he ele an p ope ies include collec ion
i ems a (P11146), a chi es a (P485) and has wo ks in col-
lec ion (P6379), which a e used o speci y whe e specimens
collec ed by a bo anis , a chi al ma e ials, o wo ks o a
(including bo anical illus a ions) a e held. O e 60 examples
o Wikida a p ope ies (no including iden i ie s) ha can be
used on bo anis i ems a e shown in Fig. 8.
Taxa
Wikida a i ems ela ing o a axon (Q16521) can con ain
axonomic in o ma ion abou a axon a any ank. A ypical
Wikida a i em o a axon could include axon name (P255),
axon ank (P105), pa en axon (P171), axon au ho ci -
a ion (P6507), desc ibed by sou ce (P1343), axon synonym
(P1420), axon common name (P1843; in mul iple languages),
axon ange (P9714), sequenced genome URL (P6800), image
(P18), and many o he s, all o which can be e e enced o mul-
iple sou ces, including publica ions, da abases and o he links.
Nea ly 50 examples o Wikida a p ope ies (no including iden-
i ie s) ha can be used on axon i ems a e shown in Fig. 9.
Taxa a e desc ibed using names as a p oxy o a concep .
Because axonomy and nomencla u e a e dynamic, names and
concep s can change o e ime: he same concep can ha e mul-
iple names and ice e sa. I has been deba ed how o add ess
his h ough he use o iden i ie s o axon concep s, a he han
axon names (Geo oy and Be endsohn, 2003; Remsen, 2016).
Despi e some success ul implemen a ions in o he sys ems
(Lepage e al., 2014; Hüllbusch e al., 2024), his app oach
has no been adop ed by Wikida a. Ne e heless, he use o
p ope ies such as axon synonym (P1420) and i s in e se p op-
e y axon synonym o (P12763), as well as he pai eplaced
synonym o (P12764) and eplaced synonym ( o nom. no .)
(P694) can assis in acking he mu abili y o axon names.
Wikida a also colla es and links o mul iple iden i ie s ela ing
o axa on hei i ems, including Ca alogue o Li e ID (P10585),
GBIF axon ID (P846), iNa u alis axon ID (P3151), In asi e
Species Compendium Da ashee ID (P5698), IPNI plan ID
(P961), NCBI axonomy ID (P685), Open T ee o Li e ID
(P9157), Plan s o he Wo ld Online ID (P5037), T opicos
ID (P960), USDA PLANTS ID (P1772), Wo ld Flo a Online
ID (P7715), WoRMS-ID o axa (P850) and dozens o o he s
(see e.g. po a o, Q10998) (Sha ee e al., 2023). Th ough hese
links, Wikida a assis s wi h he unde s anding and isualiza-
ion o a axon name and he en ichmen o da a known abou
ha axon. Wikida a can aid he en ichmen o axon- ela ed
a icles in mul iple language Wikipedias. Fo example, he
iden i ie s om he Wikida a i em o a species (such as Oxalis
pso aleoides, Q131350563) a e pulled in o i s Wikipedia a icle
(h ps://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Oxalis_pso aleoides, da e las
accessed, 15 May 2025) using a empla e ha c ea es a ‘Taxon
Iden i ie s’ box a he bo om o he page.
As wi h people desc ibed abo e, digi al ools can also use he
da a con ained in Wikida a o en ich websi es, da abases and
ca alogues abou hese axa. Fo example, he A las o Li ing
Aus alia (ALA) inges s bo h he axon’s Wikipedia a icle and
i s accompanying Wikida a-gene a ed axon iden i ie da a in o
he app op ia e axon page o a species, genus, amily, e c.
(Belbin e al., 2021). The Ex e nal links sec ion on he bo om
le o he ALA page o Oxalidaceae R.B . is a good example
(A las o Li ing Aus alia, 2024).
Wikida a can compile and e lec mul iple axonomies
and classi ica ions o a axon, as mul iple and di e ing e -
e enced s a emen s can be made o a ious p ope ies on
he axon i em. Wikida a also has sepa a e i ems o al e -
na i e names o a axon and can link synonyms o associ-
a ed axonomic names and hei suppo ing publica ions and
da abases (Fig. 8). In his way, Wikida a helps o co ec ‘a
majo gap in he biodi e si y knowledge g aph’ which is ‘a
connec ion be ween axonomic names and he axonomic li -
e a u e’ (Page, 2023).
Wikida a can also be used as a esea ch ool o que y, unde -
s and, imp o e and esea ch a pa icula opic in bo any. Fo ex-
ample, an innocen ques ion on social media (‘How many plan
gene a we e ac ually named a e women?’) led o a mul i-
na ional collabo a ion ha answe ed his ques ion by c ea ing
a mul i-linked dynamic da ase in Wikida a ( on Me ing e al.,
2023a). The au ho s linked he Wikida a i em o an eponymous
plan genus wi h ha o he woman (o my hical emale being)
a e whom i was named using e e enced s a emen s in he
p ope y named a e (P138), hus linking be ween people, pub-
lica ions and axa o eponymy o ind he answe : a leas 728
angiospe m gene a we e named a e women o emale beings
( on Me ing e al., 2023a).
Finally, al hough we do no ad oca e he c ea ion o Wikida a
i ems o all specimens, i is possible o ype specimens o
be added o link iden i ie s ela ed o ypes. As a he w i ing
o his pape , his has no been wo ked on ex ensi ely in he
Wikida a communi y.
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s
16
pla o ms (such as ORCID o social media accoun s), bu a he
an impo an connec o which ampli ies isibili y ia a obus
online p esence (Leachman and Mab y, 2024). Wikida a also
inc eases he disco e abili y o a esea che ’s iden i ie s and
accoun s, and engagemen wi h hei wo ks (Odell e al., 2022).
Wikida a also assis s in he disco e y o his o ical and cu en
connec ions by linking he pas wi h he p esen ia Wikida a
i ems o concep s o e ime. Fu he mo e, Wikida a imp o es
he connec edness be ween communi ies by encou aging col-
labo a ion bo h wi hin he Wiki communi y and wi h he ins i-
u ions o o he o ganiza ions o indi iduals p o iding he da a
being added o Wikida a (G oom e al., 2020).
Wikida a can also be used o imp o e he da a quali y in
o he da abases and ne wo ks, such as na u al his o y collec ion
managemen sys ems (G oom e al., 2020). By using Wikida a
QIDs o link o s able and unique iden i ie s o speci ic en i ies,
Wikida a encou ages he en ichmen and euse o bo h he da a
ela ed o hese en i ies and he unique iden i ie s associa ed
wi h hem. This is pa icula ly ele an o bo anical collec ions
as Wikida a p o ides QIDs o such en i ies as bo anical col-
lec o s, o he collec ion agen s, esea ch expedi ions, and so on.
A la ge ecosys em o digi al ools o acili a e he en ichmen
o da a has been c ea ed by he Wikimedia communi y and can
be u ilized by he bo anical communi y o assis in en iching
and ex ac ing bo any- ela ed da a. Examples o hese ools in-
clude Mix’n’ma ch (Q28054658), QuickS a emen s, Scholia,
Bionomia and he Wikida a Que y Se ice. Ano he impo an
ool is OpenRe ine (Q5583871), which is used o cleaning, e-
o ming and ex ending da a, and, because i also has a Wikida a
econcilia ion se ice, can be used by he bo anical communi y
o impo and en ich da a in Wikida a.
Wikida a can be used by he bo anical communi y o quali y
con ol pu poses, which enables c oss- alida ion and he
checking o inconsis encies in da a, as well as ensu ing he da a
a e plausible. Digi al ools can u ilize Wikida a o acili a e his
quali y con ol p ocess. An example o one such ool ha can
be used in conjunc ion wi h Wikida a o unde ake such wo k is
Bionomia (see abo e). As jus one example o quali y con ol,
a Bionomia p o ile o a bo anis can show he plan g oups
o amilies ha a bo anis specializes in. This can be c oss-
checked agains he da a in Wikida a linked o ia he ield o
wo k (P101) p ope y. Simila ly, i is possible o compa e in o -
ma ion om specimens a ibu ed in Bionomia o da a held in
Wikida a abou he wo k loca ion o ha bo anis .
Making use o Wikida a empowe s bo h indi idual bo anis s
and bo anical ins i u ions o inc ease he isibili y o hei con-
ibu o s, imp o e he accessibili y o he bo any- ela ed know-
ledge con ibu ed, assis esea ch capabili ies h ough que ying
Wikida a, and se e as a ool o acili a e imp o emen s o
bo any- ela ed da a quali y.
OUTLOOK AND CALL TO ACTION
Wikida a may ne e be ully comple e, bu he mo e bo anical
ins i u ions and bo anis s con ibu e o i (including he people
eading his a icle), he mo e use ul Wikida a will become o
e e yone in he bo anical (and wide ) communi y. The e o e,
he co-au ho s o his pape encou age membe s o he bo any
communi y—bo h indi iduals and o ganiza ions— o add
bo any- ela ed da a o Wikida a and euse i .
The ollowing sec ion ou lines p ac ical guidelines and e-
sou ces on how he bo anical communi y can en ich Wikida a,
including he impo ance and impac o collabo a ion on mul-
iple le els, how o ge s a ed, da a ound ipping by bo anical
ins i u ions, and he use o Wikida a in he class oom. Nex ,
se e al e hical and legal conside a ions ha mus be conside ed
when edi ing and using Wikida a a e ou lined and discussed.
Finally, in a call o ac ion, he w i e s encou age bo anis s and
hei ins i u ions o en ich and use Wikida a o achie e he en
s a egic ac ions o he IBC Mad id Decla a ion (Table 1).
Collabo a ion is key—in bo any and in Wikida a
A he XX In e na ional Bo anical Cong ess, a dis inguished
plan axonomis a he Na u al His o y Museum, London,
Sand a Knapp (Q276405), ga e he opening lec u e, en-
i led ‘Why bo any? Why now?’ (Knapp, 2024). He in-
spi a ional, passiona e and o wa d-looking p esen a ion
highligh ed how undamen al plan s a e o he ea h, and o
us. Impo an ly, she ocused he alk on he key ole o bo an-
is s and o he s in achie ing he 17 Uni ed Na ions Sus ainable
De elopmen Goals (SDGs, Q7649586) (h ps://www.un.o g/
sus ainablede elopmen /, da e las accessed, 15 May 2025),
using bo anical examples in he ollowing hemes: cul i a ion,
conse a ion, and collabo a ion as a communi y (Knapp, 2024).
This inal heme—collabo a ion as a communi y— esona es
s ongly no only in bo any (e.g. An onelli e al., 2024), bu also
in Wikida a. B inging hese wo communi ies oge he o col-
labo a e and sha e Linked Open Da a bene i s us all.
Riche collabo a ion e o s a e needed by bo anis s o in-
c ease he amoun as well as he quali y o bo any- ela ed in-
o ma ion in Wikida a, which can in u n educe he cu a o ial
wo kload and imp o e he da a quali y in ou ins i u ional da a-
bases (G oom e al., 2020). In ensi ying collabo a ions be ween
he bo anical and he Wikida a communi ies can assis wi h a -
ge ed imp o emen s o da a, e.g. in wo kshops o edi -a- hons
ocusing on speci ic opics ela ed o bo any, plan s, agen s
ac i e in bo any o bo anical collec ions, including he ba ia,
bo anical ga dens and o he s. WikiP ojec s (Q16695773) cu -
en ly exis o can be c ea ed o acili a e collabo a ion e o s
on imp o ing knowledge o speci ic opics and p o ide an op-
po uni y o in i e o he Wikimedians (and bo anis s) o ge in-
ol ed and con ibu e.
Wikida a can be used o suppo e o s owa ds imp o ing
knowledge equi y and can assis wi h he democ a iza ion o
knowledge. Mo e collabo a ion is needed o co ec biases in
Wikida a, such as he gende con en gap as well as ace and
ci izenship biases (Shaik e al., 2021; Zhang and Te een 2021;
Cen elles and Fe an-Fe e , 2024). Collabo a ion is also needed
o imp o e he accessibili y o da a abou bo anical ins i u ions
and indi idual bo anis s om he Global Sou h (Auge e al.,
2024) as well as ma ginalized communi ies o collec ions om
colonial con ex s (Kaise e al., 2023; Kaise and on Me ing,
2024). Con ibu ions om bo anis s based in di e en coun ies
can assis wi h hese e o s. Fo example, he esea ch unde -
aken on plan gene a named in honou o women and my hical
emale beings ( on Me ing e al., 2023a) was comple ed by
eigh co-au ho s om ou coun ies.
The ex ended communi y o people wo king in bo anical (o
o he na u al his o y) collec ions and in he ield o biodi e si y
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s 17
da a o biodi e si y in o ma ics collec i ely has a lo o know-
ledge and expe ience in he modelling o biodi e si y- ela ed in-
o ma ion. B inging oge he his communi y wi h Wikimedians
and especially Wikida a edi o s helps o es ablish communi y-
ag eed da a models in Wikida a ha in u n acili a e he add-
i ion and en ichmen o bo any- ela ed da a. Such exchange
and collabo a ion can also in ol e TDWG, he o ganiza ion
dedica ed o de eloping biodi e si y in o ma ion s anda ds.
Fo example, he TDWG Task G oup Modelling Resea ch
Expedi ions comp ises bo anis s, collec ions s a , da a expe s
and Wikida a edi o s.
I is a ui ul collabo a ion o bo anis s o p o ide he b oade
Wikida a communi y wi h ecommenda ions on how o model
and link esea ch- ela ed da a (including bo anical expedi ions)
in Wikida a. An example o a success ul collabo a ion is he
c ea ion and use o he p ope y collec ion i ems a (P11146).
Table 1. How bo anis s can use Wikida a o suppo he en calls o ac ion in he Mad id Decla a ion. Fo each o he en calls o ac ion
in he Mad id Decla a ion ep oduced in he i s column, we ha e c ea ed a complemen a y call o ac ion o speci ic ways bo anis s
can use Wikida a o help suppo each s a egic goal. The Mad id Decla a ion was collec i ely published by he cong ess pa icipan s a
he end o he IBC and is aimed a bo anis s, ins i u ions and ci izens o ‘s eng hen he connec ion be ween plan s and people, nu u e
mu ual bene i s, and enhance plane a y heal h and esilience’ (XX In e na ional Bo anical Cong ess, 2024).
Call o ac ion (Mad id Decla a ion) Call o ac ion o bo anis s using Wikida a
1. Plan Di e si y as he Founda ion: pa icipan s call o
imp o ed suppo and ecogni ion o he c i ical ole
o plan di e si y s udies, na u al his o y collec ions,
and bo anical ga dens.
1. Add all he ba ia, collec ions, esea ch ins i u ions, uni e si ies, na u al his o y museums, bo-
anical ga dens, DNA banks, seed banks, labo a o ies and biological esea ch s a ions in o
Wikida a.
2. Bo anical Educa ion a all Le els: pa icipan s call
o inc eased emphasis on bo anical educa ion om
ea ly childhood h ough li elong lea ning.
2. Add all plan axa and bo anical li e a u e in o Wikida a and use open educa ional esou ces
aimed a in eg a ing Wikida a in he class oom.
3. Collabo a i e T ansdisciplina y App oaches:
pa icipan s call o mo e collabo a i e and
ansdisciplina y app oaches o plan esea ch, in-
cluding local and indigenous knowledge, he a s,
humani ies and di e se scien i ic app oaches.
3. Wo k oge he on collabo a i e and mul idisciplina y Wikida a p ojec s o link bo anis s, plan
axa, publica ions, ins i u ions, loca ions, esea ch expedi ions and ela ed esou ces. Such
collec i e ac ion will help o he s and lead o bo anical o o he esea ch ollow-up p ojec s,
such as he cu en pape , which was based on Wikida a WikiP ojec IBC 2024 (h ps://
www.wikida a.o g/wiki/Wikida a:WikiP ojec _IBC_2024). Link in o ma ion om TL-2 and
Bionomia o Wikida a p ope ies o collec o s and illus a o s a na u al his o y ins i u ions.
4. Add essing Inequali ies in he Plan Sciences: pa -
icipan s call o mu ually espec ul, equi able,
pa ne ship-based app oaches and p ope inclu-
sion and bene i sha ing o all s akeholde s in-
ol ed in esea ch, policy o mula ion and p oduc
de elopmen .
4. Focus on c ea ing, imp o ing and linking Wikida a i ems o unde - ep esen ed bo an-
is s—including women, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, indigenous, and o he mino i ies—as well as
unde - ep esen ed ins i u ions and collec ions, pa icula ly hose om he Global Sou h.
Follow e hical and legal guidelines o con ibu ing such da a o Wikida a.
5. Recognizing Biocul u al Di e si y: pa icipan s call
o imp o ed ecogni ion and suppo o biocul u al
di e si y, including he co-p oduc ion o knowledge
and b inging oge he di e se knowledge sys ems,
me hodologies and s akeholde s.
5. Ha ness ou bo anical, cul u al and language knowledge o add mul ilingual in o ma ion, ans-
la ions, links and e e ences o Wikida a i ems o bo anis s, plan axa, ins i u ions, publica-
ions, loca ions o esea ch expedi ions and esou ces. O e and pa icipa e in mul ilingual
Wikida a wo kshops, ideos and online esou ces, pa icula ly in he Global Sou h.
6. Plan Di e si y is Cen al o Ecosys em P o ec ion
and Res o a ion: pa icipan s call o conse a ion
and es o a ion s a egies ha p io i ize plan di e -
si y while p o ec ing he unc ioning o ecosys ems
and landscapes.
6. Add all na ional and egional pa ks, ese es, and o he a eas in need o p o ec ion o es o a-
ion o Wikida a, and link o locali y coo dina es, habi a in o ma ion, e c., and legal, policy
and esea ch publica ions suppo ing p o ec ion and es o a ion o hese ecosys ems.
7. Policy Based on Sound Knowledge Abou Plan s: pa -
icipan s call o e idence-based decision-making
wi h imp o ed in eg a ion o bo anical knowledge
in o sus ainable long- e m policy decisions.
7. Use Wikida a o help acili a e mul ilingual and mul idisciplina y collabo a ions o imp o e
he accessibili y and eusabili y o bo anical knowledge including o policy decisions. Whe e
possible, publish pape s and epo s as Open Access as Wikida a can ampli y he impac o
hese publica ions o ensu e sound policy decisions.
8. Ha nessing Na u e-based Solu ions: pa icipan s call
o he inc eased ecogni ion and implemen a ion o
di e se na u e-based solu ions ha maximize spe-
cies di e si y, inc ease esilience o clima e change,
enhance plan conse a ion and encou age sus ain-
able managemen and ecosys em es o a ion.
8. Pa icipa e in Wikida a WikiP ojec Clima e Change (h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/
Wikida a:WikiP ojec _Clima e_Change) and ela ed WikiP ojec s o inc ease ecogni ion and
implemen a ion o na u e-based solu ions.
9. A S onge Role o Plan s in Achie ing Sus ainabili y
and a Ne Ze o Economy: pa icipan s call o an in-
c eased ecogni ion o he ole o plan s in achie ing
sus ainabili y and es ablishing a ne -ze o economy.
9. Use Wikida a o collabo a e wi h o he Wikimedians wo king on he UN Sus ainable
De elopmen Goals, including joining Wikimedians o Sus ainable De elopmen (h ps://
me a.wikimedia.o g/wiki/Wikimedians_ o _Sus ainable_De elopmen ).
10. Inc easing Awa eness o he Cen ali y o Plan s o
Plane a y Heal h and Resilience: pa icipan s call o
inc eased awa eness o he impo ance o plan s o
plane a y heal h and esilience.
10. Imp o e he isibili y o plan s in Wikida a h ough engagemen wi h app op ia e Wikida a
WikiP ojec s (e.g. h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/Wikida a:WikiP ojec _Bo any and h ps://
www.wikida a.o g/wiki/Wikida a:WikiP ojec _Biodi e si y). Use Wikida a o p omo e plane-
a y heal h in o ma ion (e.g. Ma os e al., 2024; he LOTUS ini ia i e, Ru z e al., 2022a).
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s
18
In Wikida a, bo h he on ology o he da abase—including i s
p ope ies, as a Wikida a p ope y p oposal (Q114746893)—as
well as he da a i sel a e all edi able by he communi y. This
p ope y was he e o e p oposed o he Wikida a communi y o
c ea ion a e consul a ions wi h biodi e si y da a expe s and
colleagues om di e en na u al his o y collec ions (h ps://
www.wikida a.o g/wiki/Wikida a:P ope y_p oposal/collec-
ion_i ems_a , da e las accessed, 15 May 2025). I was ac-
cep ed by he Wikida a communi y and is now widely used in
Wikida a o link people o expedi ions wi h ins i u ions o col-
lec ions housing specimens ga he ed by hese people o du ing
hese collec ing e en s.
The modelling o axonomic da a con inues o de elop in
Wikida a wi h he ecen c ea ion o such p ope ies as axon
synonym o (P12763) and basionym o (P12766) assis ing wi h
he en iching o bo anical- ela ed i ems (Fig. 9). Collabo a ions
can ensu e hese p ope ies a e used mo e equen ly and con-
sis en ly, leading o iche bo anical- ela ed axonomic da a
being in eg a ed in o Wikida a. Such da a models also acili a e
he be e in eg a ion o and linking o la ge bo anical da abases
such as IPNI and WFO.
In imes o machine lea ning and AI, a ailabili y and easy
accessibili y o high-quali y open da a a e impo an as ee
aining da a and o he e i ica ion o in o ma ion. Da a in
open and communi y-cu a ed pla o ms such as Wikida a a e
becoming mo e and mo e impo an when hinking abou
knowledge equi y (Schus e , 2024). A p ojec by Wikimedia
Deu schland (WMDE) aims o acili a e he use o open da a
om Wikida a by open-sou ce ini ia i es and non-p o i AI p o-
jec s (Schus e , 2024). Wikida a is used o ac -checking and
e i ica ion, e.g. by combining s uc u ed da a in i s knowledge
g aph wi h la ge language models (LLMs; e.g. Tho n on e al.,
2022). LLMs can also help o accele a e access o schola ly
da a hidden in uns uc u ed da ase s and make hem mo e sus-
ainably accessible ia Wikida a (e.g. Mihindukulasoo iya e
al., 2024).
Ge ing s a ed in Wikida a o bo anis s and bo anical
ins i u ions
As an open and collabo a i e communi y, Wikida a em-
powe s anyone o con ibu e and help o ill gaps, e.g. by adding
in o ma ion abou bo anis s, bo anical ins i u ions, bo anical
axa, e c. This can be he addi ion o small bu impo an pieces
o in o ma ion such as a yea o bi h o dea h o a bo anis ,
linking o he ins i u ion ha holds a chi al ma e ial o he ele-
an bo anis , adding he geoloca ion in o ma ion o a bo an-
ical ins i u e, and so on. Con ibu ions can also be he ba ch o
bulk upload o la ge cu a ed da ase s, e.g. da a abou a bo an-
ical collec ion and i s ela ed collec ion agen s. E e y edi o ’s
le el o engagemen wi h Wikida a a ies o e ime, bu e e y
con ibu ion, whe he small o la ge, imp o es Wikida a.
As an indi idual, i is ela i ely easy o s a manually
edi ing Wikida a by making use o he many aining ma e -
ials a ailable in mul iple languages, including online u o -
ials (e.g. h ps://www.lea nwikida a.ne /, da e las accessed,
15 May 2025), guidelines (Baue e al., 2022), publica ions
(e.g. Sha ee e al., 2023; Leachman and Mab y, 2024) and e-
sou ces a ailable on Wikida a i sel (e.g. h ps://www.wikida a.
o g/wiki/Wikida a:Tou s and h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/
Wikida a:WikiP ojec _IBC_2024/Resou ces, da e las ac-
cessed, 15 May 2025).
Indi iduals a e also able o edi in bulk using ools such as
QuickS a emen s o OpenRe ine. They a e also encou aged o
each ou o he Wikida a edi ing communi y o collabo a e on
bo any- ela ed p ojec s o imp o e Wikida a. Connec ing wi h
ellow edi o s can ake he o m o a ending in pe son o i ual
Wiki mee ups ound locally, signing up o and engaging wi h
ele an WikiP ojec s (such as h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/
Wikida a:WikiP ojec _Bo any, h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/
Wikida a:WikiP ojec _Taxonomy and h ps://www.wikida a.
o g/wiki/Wikida a:WikiP ojec _Biodi e si y, da e las ac-
cessed, 15 May 2025) o o he collabo a ions, such as Wikida a
edi -a- hons, hacka hons o con e ences.
Bo any ins i u ions a e encou aged o add hei da a o
Wikida a (e.g. Lemus-Rojas and Lee, 2020). Ins i u ions
can also collabo a e wi h he Wikida a communi y o c ea e
Wikida a p ope ies o any app op ia e ins i u ional iden i-
ie s in o de o link o he ins i u ion’s da a in Wikida a (see
Wikida a sea ch h ps://bi .ly/3P1GqCy, da e las accessed, 15
May 2025). Ins i u ions can make use o he many ools a ail-
able (such as Mix’n’ma ch) o assis in he inges ing and linking
o an ins i u ion’s da a.
Round ipping da a ia Wikida a
Ins i u ions a e also encou aged o ound ip da a om
Wikida a. Da a ound ipping (Q108684293) is he p ocess o
using, eusing, en iching and upda ing da a om one da abase
and hen in eg a ing ha same da a in o ano he . By adding
links o app op ia e Wikida a i ems in hei collec ion manage-
men sys ems and on hei websi es, bo any ins i u ions can
accele a e he accessibili y and impac o hei bo any- ela ed
da a. Should hey be willing o do so, ins i u ions a e also able
o inges any needed in o ma ion sou ced om hese Wikida a
i ems in o hei own websi es and collec ion managemen sys-
ems (e.g. BHL; Dea bo n and Leachman, 2023).
To suppo o ganiza ions in engaging wi h Wikida a, he
Wikida a page Linked Open Da a wo k low (h ps://www.
wikida a.o g/wiki/Wikida a:Linked_open_da a_wo k low, da e
las accessed, 15 May 2025) gi es an o e iew o he s eps ha
can be aken by he ins i u ion, and lis s ools and sc ip s ha
can be used in he p ocess o p epa ing, econciling, inges ing,
analysing, eusing and epo ing o he impac o he da a. I
ocuses on ools ha a e especially use ul o galle ies, lib a ies,
a chi es and museums (GLAM ins i u ions, Q1030034; see
also h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/
Wikida a:GLAM, da e las accessed, 15 May 2025).
How o in eg a e Wikida a in he class oom
Wikida a and Bionomia can also be easily in eg a ed in o
uni e si y cou ses and can be used o suppo esea ch unde -
aken by mas e ’s and doc o al s uden s. The e a e many online
u o ials and o he open educa ional esou ces (OER, Q116781)
a ailable ha suppo eaching abou hese ools. Two modules
ha we e ecen ly de eloped as pa o a cou se-based esea ch
expe ience (CURE) ocus on Wikida a and Bionomia, espec -
i ely (Leachman and Mab y, 2024; Mab y e al., 2024).
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on Me ing e al. — Wikida a o bo anis s 19
Some e hical and legal conside a ions when con ibu ing o
Wikida a
Con ibu o s o Wikida a should conside bo h e hical and
legal guidelines and obliga ions when con ibu ing o Wikida a.
Fo example, when adding da a o Wikida a, i is good p ac ice o
add au ho i a i e, accessible and ele an e e ences o all s a e-
men s o allow any use o e i y he in o ma ion unde lying he
espec i e s a emen s (Wikida a, 2025b). The e a e se e al ini-
ia i es wi hin he Wikida a communi y o inc ease he numbe
and quali y o e e ences on Wikida a s a emen s, which would
s eng hen hei alidi y, e i iabili y and eliabili y, and ha
o Wikida a as a whole (e.g. Piscopo e al., 2017; Cu o o and
Hogan, 2020; Baue e al., 2022). When dealing wi h Wikida a
i ems o unde - ep esen ed bo anis s, i is o en a challenge
o ind any e e ences. In hese cases, we belie e i is be e
o p o ide un e e enced da a o non-au ho i a i e sou ces, as
including hese helps o su ace addi ional in o ma ion abou
unde - ep esen ed people.
Copy igh licensing mus also be aken in o accoun . Since
Wikida a adhe es o a CC0 licence, his makes i di icul o in-
co po a e da a wi h incompa ible licensing. Despi e hese limi-
a ions, Wikida a emains a aluable ool o scien i ic esea ch.
Wikida a edi o s should also ollow he guidance gi en
by Wikida a on edi ing i ems abou hemsel es, o someone
hey know o ep esen (h ps://www.wikida a.o g/wiki/
Wikida a:Au obiog aphy).
Con ibu o s o Wikida a should conside he e hical and
legal obliga ions ha exis o p o ec a li ing pe son’s igh
o p i acy (Lindsey e al., 2022; Wea hing on and B ubake ,
2023). Wikida a has an ag eed policy ela ing o li ing people
which should also guide con ibu ions (h ps://www.wikida a.
o g/wiki/Wikida a:Li ing_people).
In addi ion, Wikida a edi o s should conside app op ia e CARE
p inciples (Collec i e bene i , Au ho i y o con ol, Responsibili y,
and E hics; h ps://www.gida-global.o g/ca e, da e las accessed,
15 May 2025) (Jennings e al., 2003) when adding o linking in-
digenous people’s da a o da a sou ced om indigenous commu-
ni ies. Al hough he au ho s o his pape ha e emphasized how
Wikida a can acili a e he euse o bo any- ela ed da a, we belie e
his should no be a he expense o he igh s indigenous people
ha e o con ol da a sou ced om hei communi ies, no should
his es ic he applica ion and use o indigenous da a and know-
ledge o he bene i o indigenous communi ies.
CONCLUSIONS
We a gue ha Wikida a is a key and imely pla o m ha can
and should suppo bo any, bo anis s and bo anical ins i u-
ions, and he bo any communi y’s collec i e goals and s a-
egic ac ions. To achie e his, we bo anis s need o ac i ely
pa icipa e in Wikida a digi al ou each. By s eadily, delibe -
a ely and collabo a i ely imp o ing he quali y, quan i y and
linkages o bo any- ela ed da a in Wikida a, bo anis s can—
ia indi idual and collec i e ac ions—ha ness he powe o
Linked Open Da a o answe impo an que ies in he ield,
suppo he Mad id Decla a ion s a egic ac ions (Table 1)
and ul ima ely make bo any- ela ed in o ma ion mo e FAIR
and equi able. Collabo a ion is key in bo any and Wikida a, and
sha ing Linked Open Da a bene i s us all.
FUNDING
This wo k was suppo ed by he ollowing o ganiza ions,
who unded a el expenses and con e ence a endance o
ou Wikida a o Bo anis s wo kshop a he XX In e na ional
Bo anical Cong ess in Mad id, Spain, in July 2024: Wikimedia
Founda ion ( o S.L. and S. .M.); Wikimedia España ( o
Spanish Wikimedian Tomás Sao ín Pé ez); Te Papa ( o
H.M.M.); and FCT - Fundação pa a a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P.,
in he amewo k o he P ojec UIDB/04004/2020 and DOI
iden i ie 10.54499/UIDB/04004/2020 ( o J.S.). Wikimedia
Ao ea oa New Zealand p o ided unds o wo kshop book-
ma ks, while gi eaways o he wo kshop we e supplied by
Wikimedia Deu schland and Wikimedia España.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We hank Gi e Pe e sen and a second associa e edi o a he Annals
o Bo any o in i ing us o con ibu e his a icle based on ou IBC
2024 pos e , ‘Engaging wi h Wikida a: Bene i s and impac s o bo -
anis s and ins i u ions’ (h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.11102530).
We hank Da id Sho house o building Bionomia and o dis-
cussing i s euse o Wikida a da a wi h us, and Daniel Mie chen
o help wi h some SPARQL que ies and o sha ing insigh s in o
Scholia. We also hank he Wikimedia Founda ion o inancially
suppo ing S.L. and S. .M. o a end IBC 2024. Fu he mo e, we
hank he wo anonymous e iewe s o hei cons uc i e c i icism
which imp o ed he p e ious e sion o he manusc ip .
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
All au ho s con ibu ed equally o all aspec s o his pape : con-
cep ualiza ion, da a cu a ion, unding acquisi ion, p ojec admin-
is a ion, esou ces, supe ision, alida ion, isualiza ion, w i ing
– o iginal d a p epa a ion, and w i ing – e iew and edi ing.
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