New PlantID.net Features
Here are some cool features we’ve recently added to
PlantID.net.
The last six months, I’ve been working on expanding search
possibilities in PlantID.net.
I want search choices to be obvious, and to be
effective at excluding plants you don’t need to think about.
Each search choice you use makes it easier to get to
a short interactive plant list. The
shorter the list, the more likely you’ll find your plant.
You can now find
these new search choices on the Search Page (California Plant Finder):
·
Plant Type is expanded to include Broadleaf Tree,
Conifer and Vine
·
Conifer needle count and length.
·
Deciduous or Evergreen
·
Annual or Perennial
·
Monocot or Dicot
·
Is Succulent
·
Has Berries
·
Has Catkins
·
Looks Like – this may be the most important
addition, allowing you say if you think you plant is some sort of dandelion, rose,
clover, fruit tree, etc.
·
California Status (Endemic, Native or Not Native)
·
Rare (as defined by CNPS)
·
Cal IPC Invasive status
·
Taxonomy (Calflora or Jepson)
I’ve gotten
helpful feedback from John Kartesz at BONAP.org, Glenn Keator and Kristin Jakob
on this project – thanks!
In the following
example, I know I’m in Anthony Chabot Park.
I’m looking at a vine currently in bloom with white or yellow
flowers. I can tell it’s deciduous and
has berries. I’m curious to see if it’s
a CA Native, so I’ve added that to my search.
I can see
exactly what each search criterion means by clicking its link. For instance, here’s an excerpt from the “Has
Berries” link:
Of course, the
botanical definition of berry would include non-intuitive plants like oranges
and avocados and exclude strawberries, so the Berry entry explains the
differences and lets you know we’re using an intuitive approach in PlantID.net
searches.
When you click
[Search], you’ll get the interactive Plant List, where you can look at your
results in a variety of formats and sorts, drill down to the plant page, and so
forth. You can now toggle back to the
Search page by clicking [More Searches], to continue to adjust your criteria:
Have fun with
it!
Reports View (December
2018)
All plant lists have a new view – Reports.
|
Click Reports to enter a report environment.
|
|
You can create reports in 3 formats:
·
Illustrated List (3
pics per plant)
·
Gallery report (1
pic per plant)
·
Text report
You control the layout, report sort, title and
population.
|
Reports are saved to a PDF file that you can print
or bring with you into the field.
Additional Layered
Search on Annual or Perennial (December 2018)
You can now search on “Annual” or “Perennial” to
reduce the number of plants you need to consider. Not sure how to tell them apart? Click the “Life Cycle” link to find
out.
Share Unpublished Plant
ID Lists (November 2018)
When you create an ID list, perhaps with Clipboard
to ID, you may make it personal or shared.
If you share it, anyone may find it by clicking “Show Shared
Lists”. This is useful if you want to
collaborate on a list, or you think others would like to see it, even if it
isn’t polished enough to be published.
Introductory Video
(November 2018)
This 7-minute video shows you PlantID.net in
action. Get oriented by seeing how to:
·
Get to a short list
of plants by entering what you know
·
Do some cool searches
o
Looks Like (Willow, Clover, Rose, Dandelion, etc.)
o
In Bloom Today
·
Search for plants in
a specific location.
·
View your list as a
gallery or as text.
·
Sort by common name,
scientific name, plant type or family.
·
Quiz yourself on
plants in a particular list.
·
Work with custom ID
guides
·
Find online help for
what you’re working on.
Plant List Gallery View
(October 2018)
You can view the Plant List as a Gallery, as well as
a list. This shows four plants per line,
allowing you to see many more plants at a time.
You can save your gallery to PDF, which is a
convenient layout to take into the field.
Clipboard to ID
(September 2018)
You can turn any plant list you can load into your
clipboard into an Interactive Plant ID List using “Clipboard to ID”. Choose a text plant list online, or from your
personal files, copy it to the clipboard, and load it into PlantID.net with
Clipboard to ID. You can search your
resulting list, drill down to learn about plants, take the quiz, and so
forth. You can save your list if you
want to work with it later.
This is a great way to learn about a group of plants
you’re unfamiliar with, or to prepare teaching tools to help others learn a
particular list.
PlantID.net on the phone
(August 2018)
PlantID.net has been reformatted to work well on
small displays, such as your phone. This
makes it easier to use in the field.
Looks Like Search (July
2018)
Many of us can say “that plant is some sort of
clover”, or lupine, or paintbrush. The Looks
Like search takes advantage of this, applying your choice to the particular
list you’re in, often producing a quick ID.
Over 400 Local Plant
Lists from around California (June 2018)
We’re continuing to import the best available plant
lists for parks, trails and specific locations around the state, working with
local experts. Local interactive plant
lists are a key feature of Plant ID made easy.
Take the Quiz (May 2018)
When you think you know the plants on the list
you’re working with, click [Take the Quiz].
You’ll be shown a slideshow of photos chosen from a plant taken from the
list. Scroll through until you think you
know what it is, then find out if you’re right.
Continue to another plant, and so on.