A researcher scans a plant specimen. Jeff Eden / Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Researchers are increasingly digitizing plant and fungi specimens and using A.I. to analyze them, work that is transforming conservation science, according to a new report.

For centuries, scientists have logged new species of plants and fungi by pressing, drying, and labeling specimens to be stored away in herbaria. Samples often included information on where plants grew, when they bloomed, and other key data. Now, millions of specimens are being digitized and shared with researchers across the globe, allowing science to render a clearer picture of the world’s embattled flora, according to a report from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in England.

In Honduras, scientists compiled digital records of local ferns — including specimens held both in the country and overseas — finding that 33 percent of species growing in protected areas were missing from management plans.…