cees Posted April 27, 2001 Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 Wouldn't it be nice if you could visit this website and browse a database of aquatic plants that are available in New Zealand. That database would tell you what the species was, who's growing it, a nice picture of the plant as seen in NZ, whether the grower had plants available to share around etc etc. This idea was suggested in another post in this forum. Let's generate a few ideas for this 'database'. My initial ideas - at least an admin interface online (share the work load) - more than just a table on a single page - only plants as seen in New Zealand with images as taken in New Zealand - links to species identification database somewhere else on the web As far as I'm concerned I can adapt any available 'Open Source' package that would do the trick, I prefer mysql/php [ This message was edited by: Cees on 2001-04-27 17:46 ] [ This message was edited by: Cees on 2001-04-27 17:47 ] [ This message was edited by: Cees on 2001-04-27 17:49 ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 27, 2001 Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 I like the idea Cees but fear you keep getting too technical for the simple-minded. What is 'admin interface online' 'open source package' or mysql/php? The last one sounds painful! I also see the BBCode buttons below but don't know if they have to be used or not. I will hope not and now click on Submit and see what happens. Anyone new to computing will find all these options a bit intimidating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted April 27, 2001 Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 Hi Cees, >- only plants as seen in New Zealand with >images as taken in New Zealand I wouldn't be to strict on this. Any image from any source is better than none. >- more than just a table on a single page Agreed >- links to species identification database >somewhere else on the web Agreed. Some fields that would be usefull in the database could include, Name of grower, Contact details, Plant Name, Growing Conditions, Source of plant, Available for sale/trade, etc. The ability to search by both plant name and/or grower name would also be useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted April 27, 2001 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 Derek, I agree, any image is better than no image at all. What I was really thinking about was plants flowering in New Zealand. Would be nice to keep some kind of scorecard for this. Would plant have to be grouped into categories? Perhaps using proper scientific naming conventions etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted April 27, 2001 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 Caryl, For someone claiming to be 'new to computing' (or are you not talking about yourself?) you're doing ok!! You even include smilies in your posts!! About BBcode, there is a link to help/info on BBcode on the lefthand side when you post to forum. My view on buttons, if you see them click them, experiment! About php/mysql, if you don't know what it is than don't worry about it. OK, enough computer talk. Real question now, I just looked at the 19997 edition of the FNZAS Plant Survey. Is that available electronically? Would be a nice starting point for an online plant database Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted April 27, 2001 Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 Cees, Definitely agree about the need to keep photos of flowers. It will certainly help to identify plants correctly. The plants should be grouped by proper scientific nomenclature but a search facilty that also allowed common names to be searched would also be benificial.I would group plants at least at a genus level i.e. all the amazon swords under Echinodorus. If you wanted you could group them by family and then by genus but I don't think this is necessary. Below is a link to a catfish site, (It has a very extensive image library of many catfish species, although it is being updated at the moment and many of the images are not presently available). Something along these lines would be good starting point. I think the idea of using the FNZAS plant survey is a very good idea. http://www.planetcatfish.com/ilibrary/c_index.htm [ This message was edited by: Derek on 2001-04-28 05:18 ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 27, 2001 Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 I think the idea of a plant database is brilliant. Take quite a lot of research though. Like Derek says, any pictures will be better than none. I particularly like the idea of where you can source plants. Good one Cees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted April 27, 2001 Report Share Posted April 27, 2001 Its good to see some interest in this topic. :eek: I agree along the lines that Derek pointed out. Pics on the net are copyright so care must be taken to get approval from the respective owners of the original pics. The 1997 plant list would be at least a place to start. At the time that list was put together there was very few plants being imported, But a year later plants from Tropica arrived into the country and made that list out of date it is now overdue to be updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominique Posted April 28, 2001 Report Share Posted April 28, 2001 If you are looking at putting a plant database on this web site I would suggest that you use three inital sources of information. 1. .nullThe FNZAS 1997 Plant survey. (All pictures were hand drawn by Ian Mills and you would only require permission of the FNZAS) 2. nullImportation lists from aquatic plant importers. 3. nullSales lists from domestic commercial growers. It is easier in the first instance to see what is being imported or commercially grown here. After that it would then be appropriate to expand and find out who else has what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted April 28, 2001 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2001 Thanks for all the replies. Good to see someting happening here. I was personally thinking along the lines of starting with a blank/empty database with a web interface. We start of empty and all of you can enter what you grow and/or have available. (There it is again, user participation) I personally don't care too much about 'the official lists' in this context. They are nice complete lists but are 'dead' in a sense, they do not necessarily reflect the 'current status'. Okay, yes a plant 'has been seen in NZ', so what. What I would like to see happening is a community sharing info and sharing plants. I think there are plenty of good sources online (better than I/we will ever be able to compile) about identification of plants hence my suggestion of links to other websites. Think about the aquarist who doesn't live in the main centres. Wouldn't it be nice if he/she could go online, find out who's growing what, send a few emails and perhaps obtain a few otherwise hard to get plants. I can come up with quite a few other scenarios like that. So, what I need (and most posts have given me plenty of ideas) is a list of fields required and a bit of a description of what form it should take. Here is my field list sofar. - Common name - Scientific name (perhaps split up in genus/family etc etc (I need to study the plant literature a bit better for that) - Names of members growing/keeping it - Names of members having stock available to share - A nice pic of plant - Photo's and dates of plant flowering in NZ if available (positive id) - A link to external source for identification/conditions (could be the NZ plant guide) Web interface: Admin Registered user can - add a listing to database - edit a listing - remove a listing (Of course all user based, you can only manipulate your own listing) General: - Browse the database - search on plantname, username, plant available etc Hows that?! Does this concept sound familiar, is there some other application that works the same way (I was thinking about auction websites but I'm not sure yet) btw, if the 'official lists' are available electronically and not 'copyrighted' why not submit them as news to this site (or send them to me by email and I'll post them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuhliloach Posted April 29, 2001 Report Share Posted April 29, 2001 Yep ,love the idea Cees, any infomation relating to our hobbie that can help other people can only be a good thing.Love the idea of being able to identify plants by picture,and then seeing who has it available.Great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted April 29, 2001 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2001 Ok, good responses overall What I need now is a volunteer with php/mysql programming experience to help me out Don't worry, I'll try to get a 'first draft' or alpha version on this sit ein a few weeks time. What I could use is a list of commom/scientific plant names, electronic form, so that I don't have to type it all. I'd like people to be able to select a plant from the list, and than tick a box saying yes I've got this one! That way the threshold for entering data in the database will be lowered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted May 1, 2001 Report Share Posted May 1, 2001 Maybe the website could have 2 sections to the plant list. Commonly available plants now, and all plants. That way anyone can post any information and it can be sorted into where ever is suitable. I like the ideas presented and would like to participate where possible. I think a national database is an excellent idea. It need not necessarily be restricted to plants, however plants would be an excellent start. Any keen people could post their experiences about a certain type of plant, which could be filed with that species for others to view and maybe help them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted May 1, 2001 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2001 Warren, Welcome back > Maybe the website could have 2 sections to the plant list Good idea! The New Zealand plant survey would be an excellent start. I asked it before, could someone send that to me in electronic form? Preferrable in a table or comma delimited list (mysql dump would be best) but I take any form (any keen typists out there?) I can put that on the site with scanned images of the drawings easily (pending FNZAS permission of course) That could be the starting point for the other section, user contributed annotations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 1, 2001 Report Share Posted May 1, 2001 The FNZAS plant survey book is not currently available electronically. I would have to get permission to do something like that but will keep the thought in mind. The subject will be brought up at conference (I hope) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 2, 2001 Report Share Posted May 2, 2001 Sorry Cess I can not offer you much help setting the pages up I have no idea what php/mysql means :???: Any of the pics in the FNZAS booklet with a PP (i.e. Paul Parsons) at the bottom are my drawings and you are free to use these if you wish. I think I still have the originals here if needed. The biggest problem me and Ian had with line drawings was to show the true form of the plants. But the cost to put together colour pics was far to high. So here is the chance to do it at next to zero cost for everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexjames Posted May 26, 2001 Report Share Posted May 26, 2001 A NZ plant database sounds like a good idea. You may already know this site, www.tropica.dk This site has a great plant identification section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted June 7, 2001 Report Share Posted June 7, 2001 Hi Cees, The topic did come up at conference, but I can't remember the outcome. I beleive it was a good one, but need to confirm it. If we have the go ahead I will offer my services to help create an electronic version if Caryl doesn't have it already, or wants some help. I would be keen to participate in helping create the proposed database also (more entering data than programming). The database is long overdue, and will give aquatic plant growers in NZ a very powerful tool for expanding the quantity and quality of plants available. It will also help keep our rare specimens available. Lets go for it!! :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted June 25, 2001 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2001 I'm working on it. I'm traveling in July and August. The plant database and the fnzas.org.nz website should be up and running after I get back, which will be end of August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 29, 2001 Report Share Posted June 29, 2001 I have permission to reproduce the FNZAS Plant Survey Booklet on the web and have been working away to do this. Hopefully it will be ready to go by the time Cees comes back from his holiday in August. The pictures have been done and I am now working my way through the text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted September 23, 2001 Report Share Posted September 23, 2001 Hi Cees, What stage is the database at? Do you need any help? I have Cryptocoryne affinis in flower at the moment if you still want to take photos of aquatic plants in flower. Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted September 25, 2001 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2001 I'm working on it. Today I received a cd from caryl with the complete 'FNZAS Plant Survey Booklet' in electronic form, GREAT!!!! The images are uploading as I write this. You can browse them here for now http://www.1research2webdesign.co.nz/fnzas/plantimages/ The table has been uploaded into the NZ Fishroom database. In the next few days I will make a crude admin form and I'll need volunteers to go though the 142 something records and edit a few things. Caryl did a great job, it just needs a finishing touch with some of the symbols etc that did not translate well in the conversion to a mysql database. Next week I'm of to Japan. When I get back I will have to finish a few commercial websites and than I'll make a section where it is possible to browse the 'NZ Plant Survey Booklet' online. At the moment I'm thinking about adding a 'user comment section' for the plant database with image upload possibility. Derek, sure I'd like a picture of the Cryptocoryne affinis. I'll call you. The link is the the pen drawing from the booklet [ This Message was edited by: Cees on 2001-09-26 05:55 ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cees Posted September 25, 2001 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2001 It's getting to late, I need sleep. I'll upload the rest of the images some other time :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted October 19, 2001 Report Share Posted October 19, 2001 Oh my. As a beginner in computers and fish i totally agree with caryl. Please Please keep it simple. I look forward with much interest to the updates. The only plants I know are the ones that survived my ignorance and have grown well e.g. Vallesteria and some other of the green ones. Such enthusiasm is infectious so glad to be able to socialise with like minded ppl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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