Kwantlen Polytechnic University, located in Beautiful British Columbia, goes global with this Plant Database App that takes plant and pest identification to a whole new level! There are currently 1549 plant entries and 18,600 images including close-up details of the leaves, flowers and/ or the fruit. Users of the Pro Version can also add their own plant location images with descriptions.
After identifying a plant with the App’s search features, users of the Pro Version can then add their own geo-tagged images of the plant or images of pests or diseases they found on the plant direct from their mobile device along with a description. Image descriptions for pests are searchable and might include signs or symptoms, plant health rating or pest infestation level, the institution or organization acronym, study or class project number, site name, initials, etc.
Field applications may include mapping plants and their pests in a botanical garden, arboretum, city park, or even your own garden! It may be used to monitor the health of city trees, the occurrence of invasive plants or the spread of emerging pests such as gypsy moth, European chafer, or sudden oak death. Student course work may include plant or pest identification along with posting an image with description for grading by an instructor. The instructor can then quickly send comments or assign marks to the student contributor. The date taken and the date submitted will appear for each image submitted and the contributor can remove their images at any time.
The App also allows saving of plant and pest favorites, easy sharing of screen shots, and a shortcut to search the web for more information on each plant. The Lite Version has all these features but will not allow uploading of images. It is hoped that users of this App will have fun learning new plants and mapping their locations but also to come to better appreciate the complex relationships between plants, pests, and the environment that have evolved over millions of years and will search for the least detrimental way to control infestations.