A plea for modern botanical collections to include DNA-friendly material

Botanists have long collected herbarium specimens during their expeditions, and the importance of such collections is broadly acknowledged nowadays. It is largely recognized that material for molecular studies must be accompanied by herbarium material to be deposited in a recognized herbarium (vouchers). By contrast, the collection of herbarium specimens with no material for genetic analyses is unfortunately still common. The evolution of science and the need to face new environmental challenges require some changes in the way science is planned and performed. Here, we highlight some key scientific areas which could greatly benefit from such DNA-friendly collections, and we make a plea – and a call to all botanists – for the routine collection of DNA-friendly material together with herbarium specimens.