Welcome to PhytCore

PhytCore was created in 2011 with a clear purpose: to provide an open, collaborative space where researchers can work together and build consensus on phytolith identification and nomenclature.

Our growing database brings together a diverse collection of phytolith images—from modern plant reference collections to samples recovered from archaeological contexts, paleosoils, and modern soils. This breadth makes PhytCore not only a research tool, but a valuable resource for anyone working with phytoliths across different environments and chronological periods.

Built through the contributions of researchers worldwide, each image in the catalogue is accompanied by detailed morphological and contextual information, including relevant nomenclatures. Whenever possible, PhytCore follows the nomenclatural guidelines of ICPN 2.0 (Neumann et al., 2019), and a link to this publication is provided on the site.