GO BOTANY Website Launched by New England Wild Flower Society
Greenbelt is happy to share this blog post from the New England Wild Flower Society.
First came Flora Novae Angliae, the definitive manual for the identification of native and naturalized vascular plants of New England. Now comes the website with thousands of full-color images and illustrations for teaching and learning botany. New England Wild Flower Society has now launched the first stage of Go Botany, the Society's exciting, new open source website that teaches botany and plant identification, is now online. Imagine a field guide at your fingertips that can help you learn about the native and naturalized plants of New England! Whether you're a botanical beginner or an expert with this free Go Botany web tool, you can now identify 1,200 of the most common native and naturalized plants of New England. But there is much more to come.
We are building a suite of many learning tools. Our flexible, user-friendly interactive key will enable you to identify species based on whichever portions of the plant - leaves, flowers, winter buds, bark, etc. - you are able to observe at any given time of the year. Using truly innovative technology, this dynamic key asks you the questions about your plant that most efficiently help you hone in on your species, based on the questions you have already answered. Our Simple Key will help you identify 1,200 of the more common New England plants. If you prefer to use a more traditional dichotomous key, later in 2012 Go Botany will feature an innovative, clickable key that is easier to navigate than a conventional field guide - no more flipping pages! Also coming in 2012, is the Full Key, which covers more than 3,500 plant species, including subspecies and varieties. We are also developing an online, collaborative portal called PlantShare, where you can join a community of plant enthusiasts and create and share checklists and photographs of species you have seen. Have a question? Here's your chance to ask a botanist. Our research botanist and assistants will be available to answer all your questions.
Go Botany is fun and friendly. Jargon is kept to a minimum, but all botanical terms are linked to a pop-up glossary. Drawings illustrate all the characteristics in the key. Once you identify your plant, you can see a wealth of information about it, including gorgeous color photographs, maps of its geographic range, diagnostic characteristics, and memorable facts. The Go Botany design is optimized for both desktop and tablet computers, so you can use it anywhere you have a web connection.