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North Carolina Botanical Garden at UNC-Chapel Hill launches new FloraQuest app
App provides comprehensive guide to botanical information at users’ fingertips
(Chapel Hill, N.C.— Aug. 21, 2015) – The North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has released a new iPhone app. Known as FloraQuest, it provides mobile devices with the contents of the 1,320 page “Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States,” a comprehensive guide to the identification, taxonomy, habitats and distribution of the over 7,000 vascular plants that call a 14-state region of the southeastern United States home.
The app, which was developed by the UNC Herbarium at the NCBG and funded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research through the Carolina Apps Program, allows users to pinpoint and identify specific plants by answering key questions about the plant and providing definitions of botanical terms.
“The visual keys, geographic key filtering, interactive identification tools and glossary and powerful search tools make this app a valuable and innovative resource for professionals, amateurs and students,” said Alan Weakley, director of the UNC Herbarium. Weakley created this app along with Michael Lee, an applications analyst in UNC’s Biology Department and Rudy Nash, an application designer.
Compared to the seven-pound book, the nearly weightless app is easier to take in the field and streamlines plant identification by narrowing results to plants found in the mobile device’s general location. The contents can be updated quickly and inexpensively and the app also allows users to store photos and other information.
“The FloraQuest app is a great way to get Carolina’s leading research in botany out to a broad diversity of user groups, including botanists, students, foresters, environmental consultants, natural resource professionals, citizen scientists and more,” said Andy Johns, associate vice chancellor for research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research’s Carolina Apps Program was created to identify innovative opportunities to leverage mobile technology to apply, translate and further UNC-Chapel Hill-led research ideas. FloraQuest is the second application developed and released under the program. The app is currently available at the Apple Store for $7.99.
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About the North Carolina Botanical Garden
The NCBG, part of the University of North Carolina, is a 1,000-acre assemblage of display gardens and natural areas. It is nationally known as a center for the study, display, interpretation, and conservation of plants. Through its educational, recreational, therapeutic horticulture, and research programs, it extends opportunities for connection with nature to people of all abilities and backgrounds. The Garden is open seven days a week and admission is free. Find out more at http://ncbg.unc.edu.
About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 78 bachelor’s, 112 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty, staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
Botanical Gardens contact: Jennifer Peterson, (919) 962-9457; jlpeters@email.unc.edu
Communications and Public Affairs contact: MC VanGraafeiland, (919) 962-7090, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu