forensic-botany
Forensic botany applies plant science principles and techniques to assist in criminal and civil investigations, using botanical evidence such as pollen, seeds, wood, or plant fragments to help establish timelines, locations, or cause of death. For plant scientists, this field highlights the practical utility of taxonomy, ecology, and anatomy in legal contexts, and drives advances in methods for identifying plant material at the species or even subspecies level. It also underscores the importance of maintaining comprehensive plant reference collections and databases that can support forensic analysis.
open_in_new WikipediaEurope PMC · 2026-01-29
Scientists developed a DNA fingerprinting system for sweet osmanthus (fragrant olive) that can identify individual plants from microscopic trace samples. The 12-marker system was validated against real criminal cases, successfully linking plant evidence collected at crime scenes to suspects.
The 12-marker system achieves a combined power of discrimination of 1 − 1.0045×10⁻¹⁹ across 273 sampled plants, making accidental matches virtually impossible.
The method reliably detects plant DNA from as little as 50–500 picograms of material and holds up against common soil and blood contaminants (humic acid up to 400 ng/µL, hematin up to 500 µM).
Plant evidence was successfully linked to specific crime scenes in two real-world criminal cases, demonstrating operational forensic value.
