Media inquiries: Please contact Dave Neudeck, dave.neudeck@dcr.virginia.gov, 804-786-5053.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 13, 2018
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Taking the "Flora of Virginia" to the Next Level
A feature from the Flora of Virginia Project
By Katie Gibson, High Country Apps
EDITORS: Download the flora screen captures from Flickr.
When early botanists such as John Clayton tramped the hills of the Virginia Colony in the early 1700s and collected plant specimens, little could they have anticipated how much things would change. Clayton’s botanical work resulted in publication of Flora Virginica, the first flora for the New World. Its second and last edition came out 256 years ago. That book, which, in its only illustration, shows the Blue Ridge Mountains as the western frontier, is of little use today—unless you can read Latin.
Fast-forward to 2012 when the Flora of Virginia Project published its 1,554-page Flora of Virginia. The incredible 7-pound book is one of the most comprehensive state floras available today, but carrying it on a long hike might earn you a visit to the chiropractor. The Flora of Virginia mobile app comes to the rescue!
The Flora of Virginia Project, in Richmond, Virginia, and High Country Apps, in Bozeman, Montana, released the Flora of Virginia app for Android and iOS devices in late September, with final touches added in early January. It’s the naturalist’s dream—offering the ability to identify Virginia plants without adding an ounce to their pack. Plus, it covers 90 to 95 percent of the plants from most adjacent states and 75 to 90 percent of most of the country east of the Mississippi.
Designed for budding botanists and experts alike, the app is a great tool for learning the names and natural history of plants that grow (native or naturalized) in Virginia as well as botanical terms, key types of plant communities and methods of plant identification. It also includes a historical account of botanical exploration in the state.
In the Flora of Virginia app, you have two techniques for identifying Virginia’s 3,164 plants across 200 families.
“The Graphic Key is pretty easy to use,” Bland Crowder, executive director of the Flora of Virginia Project, said of the innovative method of plant identification in which the user taps answers to questions regarding a plant’s habitat and physical characteristics. “Plus, the outstanding photos, which the printed Flora of Virginia did not include, help in distinguishing the short list of species that can result from a Graphic Key search.”
So far, the app features 12,000 plant photos, botanically accurate illustrations and, also not in the book, species distribution maps. A guide to 50 hot spots for botanizing in Virginia is also provided, featuring magnificent photographs that weren’t in the printed flora either.
How the Graphic Key works
In the Graphic Key, plants are divided into 11 major plant groups (e.g., ferns, grasses, orchids, asters, etc.), and for each, the interface presents easy-to-use categories, such as flower color, month of flowering, county, habitat, leaf arrangement and leaf type. If you’re hiking in the forest in Virginia in early spring and spot a pink flower with simple narrow leaves, then with a few taps you’re down to a few choices. Voilà! It’s a spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) named for Colonial botanist Clayton.
The traditional approach
The second technique for identifying plants is the more technical dichotomous keys, ideal for difficult identification and often preferred by pros. “Perhaps like me, you like to be extra sure that your IDs are rock solid,” said Chris Ludwig, a co-author of the Flora of Virginia and chief biologist with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Natural Heritage Program, the Flora Project’s chief partner. “The dichotomous keys can be used to enhance the Graphic Key or in lieu of it.”
A dichotomous key leads you through a series of paired statements about your mystery plant. In each pair, you choose the statement that best describes the plant and either reach an identification or continue on to a new pair of statements.
No internet connection needed
Once you’ve downloaded the app onto your smartphone or tablet, you don’t need an internet connection to use it. If you’re trekking through the mountains with no Wi-Fi or cellular connection, no problem: The app is still 100 percent usable.
Additional info
The app includes supporting documents with information on the eco-regions of the state. You will also find an extensive glossary of botanical terms and labeled diagrams of major plant features. Finally, detailed descriptions, verbatim from the printed flora, are there for each species, genus and family. Tapping on a genus or family name brings up a list of images and names for all its species in the app.
Partners
The Flora of Virginia app includes the full contents of the Flora of Virginia, by Alan Weakley of the University of North Carolina, Ludwig, and John Townsend, staff botanist with DCR’s Natural Heritage program, and edited by Crowder. The expertise of Ludwig and Townsend was crucial to development of this app. The Flora Project’s four other partners have also been indispensable. Range maps and many photographs came from the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora, managed by the Virginia Botanical Associates. The Virginia Native Plant Society has supported the Project financially at state, chapter and member levels, and many members participated as volunteers. The Virginia Academy of Science provided impetus for the printed flora and has been a leader in financial support. And Richmond’s Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden provided important planning and logistic support.
Where to purchase
The Flora of Virginia app is available at Apple and Google app stores for $19.99. A portion of revenues from app sales go to support the Flora of Virginia Project and its current focus, “Keeping the Science Current.”
Images
Screenshots of the Flora of Virginia app. Images courtesy of the Flora of Virginia Project and High Country Apps LLC.
High-resolution images available. Contact katie_gibson@ieee.org.
Links to the Flora of Virginia app ($19.99):
Google Play
Apple Store