Dear plant lovers, we (botany Ph.D. students) recently launched an app called FlowerChecker which helps with plant identifications. The identification is not computer-based, it requires the expert knowledge. Over the past testing period of four months, we identified almost one thousand plants from pictures. However, our team is currently composed mainly of experts from the Central Europe. We would like to accept more people from other parts of the world, people who know the local floras. Currently our services are free, but users are allowed to support us by donating a dollar or two which serves as a reward for the botanists. If you want to join us, contact us here. If you want to try the app, you can download it here. You can find us on Facebook or Twitter What do you think about the idea? FlowerChecker experts coordinator
I suppose the difference is that it is an app environment -- it does make it a bit more immediate. Still, I would be concerned about the identification process. It is pretty evident from here that it sometimes requires multiple people considering a species from different perspectives and knowledge-bases to come to a positive conclusion.
Thank you for the responses. We do it for free as well, the payment is voluntary. It is mainly because we are not able to identify all plants and we are not always 100 % sure with our identifications. Sometimes we are able to identify the genus only. Exactly. This is the main advantage. You just make a picture and upload it. No need to sign in a forum, write anything and check it for an anwer. The indetification requests are geolocated, we know exactly from where the request comes. Good point. We have a administration environment with all the request where we can discuss and suggest the identifications (screenshot attached). We also have a closed group on Facebook where we can discuss. Compared to forums, the identification process is hidden, the user just gets the final answer.
The Note field can be used to post an argument for a suggested identification? Otherwise, if responders cannot indicate what it is about a particular picture makes it a given plant, then that is an inadequacy.
Exactly. It can be also used as a note when you resolve a request (Example: "We are not sure of which species it is. Please make a detailed picture of a leaf")
