How This Application Is Used

This application is an elaborate dichotomous tree identification key.

Instruction Steps:

The end user looks at a plant leaf based on what that person sees as a definitive descriptive characteristic of that leaf.
The end user selects from an existing list of descritive tems (minimum of one description).
The software will return a list of known plants which match that description.

The Intended Audience for This Application

Herbariums, Plant Scientists, and Citizen Scientists

This Application identifies a plant species by matching recorded leaf form characteristics, “Leaf Morphology”, with a persons eye witness observation of the same leaf's morphology.

The scientific community have developed a specific vocabulary to describe a variety of descriptive biological observations. This application is centered around that vocabulary and those definitions.

This Application Promotes and Rejuvenates Existing Herbarium Institutions

A hebariums is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.

One of the philosophical hopes of these institutions is that the plant collection will further plant science research.

The knowledge Database which this app draws from depends on the physical bank of information provided by Herbariums.

The following below is a linked article which explain why Herbaria are important to the plant science community.

"SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HERBARIUM"
A plea for increased appreciation and activism for Oklahoma's herbaria
Oklahoma Native Plant Record vol. 4: 55-56. 2004.

The Motivation Behind Designing This Application

This Application Is A Working Component of An Elaborate Plant Image Identification System

Camera/Photograph software exists which can identify different plants based upon their shape characteristics, however a lot of these program applications are not reliable. The programs which are reliable are limited to plants which are extremely unique. Many existing products are targeted toward children and other hobbyists.

Existing image identification software algorithms are effective in catching object patterns, but they typically can not confirm a reliable match in respect to a specific species of similar looking plants.

Empirical Method Using Image Detection Software and The Human Eye

How plant image identification will work along with the Plant Morphology Application

A plant leaf specimen is selected and presented to both the Image Identification Software and the Human Scientist.
Image Identification Software will detect a spectrum of specific shape patterns present on a leaf.
The identified image patterns will be paired with existing patterns found in various known plants contained within a Herbarium Database.
Then the human scientist note any physical observations present on the plant specimen.
The computer will compare the Image Identification Software matches with the observations made by the scientist. This final comparison will be the proposed identification of the plant.