Archaeobotanical evidence for the exploitation of vegetatively-propagated root crops and vegetables in the tropical regions of Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific is limited. In part this is a function of poor preservation, but also in part a function of poor archaeobotanical application. Currently, interpretations of plant exploitation, cultivation and plant domestication in these regions are highly reliant on macroremains of charred nut shells and seeds, as well as on microremains of phytoliths and starch grains. The study of vegetative propagation using parenchymatous tissues is currently limited by a lack of expertise, lack of available reference collections and the failure to systematically apply flotation at archaeological sites to recover suitable archaeobotanical material.
Our research uses the latest X-ray microCT imaging technology at the ANU CTLab to compile a three-dimensional online reference collection of parenchymatous tissues for key plant species known to have been exploited by humans in Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The microCT imaging provides sharp, high-contrast micron-scale views of the delicate tissue structures, using newly-developed tomographic image reconstruction algorithms. Once compiled, the online reference collection will be freely available and is intended to substantially increase the rate of taxonomic determinations for parenchymatous tissues in the wet tropics, as well as to overcome problems of standard slide mounting and histological analysis. Here we discuss practical and technical issues associated with the development of the online database, as well as the potential to revolutionise our understanding of plant use in the past.