About Us

PlantCollections Partners

PlantCollections – A Community Solution is comprised of institutions that have agreed to participate in the project at one of four levels.

As Project Director, Chicago Botanic Garden is responsible for fund raising, coordinating on a daily basis the efforts of all of the partners, writing semi-annual progress reports and expanding the number of participating institutions.

Primary partners

are those institutions that have agreed to invest significant time and expertise in the creation, maintenance and expansion of the project. The primary partners are:

  • Chicago Botanic Garden
  • North American Plant Collections Consortium of the American Public Gardens Association
  • University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center and Natural History Museum
  • Imbrogliare, LLC
  • Florida State University School of Computational Sciences Morphbank
  • BG-BASE, Inc.
  • BG-BASE (UK) Ltd.
  • Beijing Botanical Garden (Chinese Development Partner)
  • National Trust (UK) (European Development Partner)
  • Google Base
  • Pathfinder Associates Chicago (Portal Development Partner)
  • AlligatorTek (Portal Support Partner)

The codes used to identify institutions are shown with the institution name, city and state.

Phase 1 partners

are those institutions that agreed to provide their plant records data, dedicate staff time and expertise towards the collection of survey data, the federated schema, creation of the software applications and promotion of the project. The Phase 1 partners are:

  • PC-CBG = Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, IL)
  • PC-GWLOT = Ganna Walska Lotusland (Santa Barbara, CA)
  • PC-HNT = Huntington Art Collections, Library and Botanical Gardens (San Marino, CA)
  • PC-MO = Missouri Botanical Garden (St. Louis, MO)
  • PC-MCC = Mt. Cuba Center, Inc. (Greenville, DE)
  • PC-MOR = The Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL)
  • PC-TNCA = The North Carolina Arboretum (Ashville, NC)
  • PC-USNA = United States National Arboretum (Washington, DC)

Phase 2 partners

are those institutions that agreed to provide access to their plant records data and dedicate staff time to testing the software applications.

  • PC-ARNOLD = Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (Boston, MA)
  • PC-LANDIS = Landis Arboretum (Esperance, NY)
  • PC-NORFOLK = Norfolk Botanical Garden (Norfolk, VA)
  • PC-SFBG = San Francisco Botanical Garden (San Francisco, CA)
  • PC-SBBG = Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (Santa Barbara, CA)
  • PC-SCOTT = Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
  • PC-UCDAVIS = University of California Davis Arboretum (Davis, CA)
  • PC_UWBG = University of Washington Botanic Gardens (Seattle, WA)

Beijing Botanical Garden is the lead institution for expansion of PlantCollections in China.

Please note not all institutions have data entered at this time.

  • PC-BMBG = Beijing Botanical Garden, (Beijing)
  • PC-Nanjing = Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen, (Nanjing, Jiangsu)
  • PC-Shanghai = Shanghai Botanical Garden, (Shanghai)

National Trust (UK) is responsible for adding UK participants to the PlantCollections project.

Please note, not all institutions have data entered at this time.

  • PC-ACOB = Acorn Bank Garden and Watermill, (Nr Penrith, Cumbria) National Trust (UK)
  • PC-ALAR = A La Ronde, (Exmouth, Devon) National Trust UK
  • PC-ALFC = Alfriston Clergy House, (Poegate, East Sussex) National Trust UK
  • PC-ANGA = Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill, (Lode, Cambridgeshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-ANTO = Antony, National Trust UK
  • PC-APPH = Apprentice House Garden, (Wilmslow, Cheshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-ARDH = Ardress House, (Portadown, Co. Armagh, N. Ir.) National Trust UK
  • PC-ARLC = Arlington Court, (Nr Barnstaple, Devon) National Trust UK
  • PC-ASCT = Ascott Estate, (Nr Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-ATTP = Attingham Park, (Shrewbury, Shropshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-AVEB = Avebury Manor and Garden, (Avebury, Wiltshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-BADD = Baddesley Clinton, (Solihull, Warwickshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-BARR = Barrington Court, (Nr Ilminster, Somerset) National Trust UK
  • PC-BATE = Batemans, National Trust UK
  • PC-BELT = Belton House, National Trust UK
  • PC-BENN = Beningbrough Hall and Gardens, (York, Yorkshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-BENT = Benthall Hall, (Broseley, Shropshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-BERR = Berrington Hall, (Leominster, Herefordshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-BIDD = Biddulph Grange Garden, (Stroke-On-Trent, Staffordshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-BLIC = Blickling Hall, National Trust UK
  • PC-BODN = Bodnant Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-BUCK = Buckland Abbey, (Yelverton, Devon) National Trust UK
  • PC-BUSC = Buscot Park, National Trust UK
  • PC-CALK = Calke Abbey, (Ticknall, Derbyshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-CASH = Canons Ashby House, (Daventry, Northamptonshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-CHAR = Charlotte Park, (Warwick, Warwickshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-CHAS = Chastleton House, (Nr Moreton-In-Marsh, Oxfordshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-CHRK = Chirk Castle, National Trust UK
  • PC-CHRT = Chartwell, (Westerham, Kent) National Trust UK
  • PC-CLAN = Clandon Park, (Guildford, Surrey) National Trust UK
  • PC-CLAR = Claremont Landscape Garden, (Esher, Surrey) National Trust UK
  • PC-CLAY = Claydon House, (Nr Buckingham, Buckinghamshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-CLEV = Clevedon Court, National Trust UK
  • PC-CLIV = Cliveden, (Maidenhead, Berks.) National Trust UK
  • PC-CLUM = Clumber Park, (Worksop, Nottinghamshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-COLB = Colby Woodland Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-COLE = Coleton Fishacre, National Trust UK
  • PC-COMP = Compton Castle, (Paignton, Devon) National Trust UK
  • PC-COTE = Cotehele, National Trust UK
  • PC-CRAG = Cragside, National Trust UK
  • PC-CROO = Croome Park, National Trust UK
  • PC-CURT = The Courts Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-CWAR = Castle Ward, (Downpatrick, Co. Down, N Irel) National Trust UK
  • PC-DROG = Castle Drogo, National Trust UK
  • PC-DUNC = Dunster Castle, (Nr Minehead, Somerset) National Trust UK
  • PC-DUDM = Dudmaston, (Bridgenorth, Shropshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-DUNM = Dunham Massey, (Altincham, Cheshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-DYRH = Dyrham Park, (Nr Chippenham, Avon) National Trust UK
  • PC-ERDH = East Riddlesden Hall, (Keighley, Yorkshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-EMMT = Emmetts Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-ERDD = Erdddig, National Trust UK
  • PC-FARN = Farnborough Hall, (Banbury, Oxfordshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-FASR = Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Water Garden, (Ripon, North Yorkshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-FELB = Felbrigg Hall, Garden and Park, (Norwich, Norfolk) National Trust UK
  • PC-FENT = Fenton House, (Hampstead, London) National Trust UK
  • PC-FLCT = Florence Court, (Co. Fermanagh, N. Ireland) National Trust UK
  • PC-GAWT = Gawthorpe Hall, (Nr Burnley, Lancashire) National Trust UK
  • PC-GIBS = Gibside, (Burnopfield, Newcastle Upon Tyne) National Trust UK
  • PC-GLEN = Glendurgan Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-GREE = Greenway, National Trust UK
  • PC-GREY = Greys Court, (Henley-on-Thames) National Trust UK
  • PC-GUBY = Gunby Hall Estate, (Nr Spilsby, Lincolnshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-HAMH = Ham House, (Richmond, Surrey) National Trust UK
  • PC-HANB = Hanbury Hall, (Droitwich, Worchestershire) National Trust UK
  • PC-HARD = Hardwick Hall, (Chesterfield, Derbyshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-HARE = Hare Hill, (Prestbury, Cheshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-HATC = Hatchlands Park, (Guildford, Surrey) National Trust UK
  • PC-HIDC = Hidcote Manor Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-HILL = Hill Top, (Ambleside, Cumbria) National Trust UK
  • PC-HINT = Hinton Amper, (Alresford, Hampshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-HOME = The Homewood, (Esher, Surrey) National Trust UK
  • PC-HRDY = Hardy's Cottage, (Dorchester, Dorset) National Trust UK
  • PC-HUGH = Hughenden Manor, (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-ICKW = Ickworth House, National Trust UK
  • PC-IGHT = Ightham Mote, (Seven Oaks, Kent) National Trust UK
  • PC-ILAM = Ilam Park, National Trust UK
  • PC-KEDL = Kedleston Hall, (Derby, Derbyshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-KCG = Knightshayes Court, (Tiverton, Devon) NationalTrust UK
  • PC-KILL = Killerton, (Exeter, Devon) National Trust UK
  • PC-LACO = Lacock Abbey, (Nr Chippeham, Wiltshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-LAMB = Lamb House, (Rye, East Sussex) National Trust UK
  • PC-LANH = Lanhydrock, (Bodmin, Cornwall) National Trust UK
  • PC-LAVE = Lavenham: The Guildhall of Corpus Christi, (Sudbury, Suffolk) National Trust UK
  • PC-LIND = Lindisfarne Castle, (Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland) National Trust UK
  • PC-LIME = Lime Nursery, (Altincham, Cheshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-LLAN = Llanerchaeron, (Lampeter, Ceredigion) National Trust UK
  • PC-LMOR = Little Moreton Hall, (Congleton, Cheshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-LYME = Lyme Park, (Stockport, Cheshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-LYTE = Lytes Cary Manor, (Charlton Mackrell, Somerset) National Trust UK
  • PC-MELF = Melford Hall, (Sudbury, Suffolk) National Trust UK
  • PC-MOMP = Mompesson House, (Salisbury, Wiltshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-MONK = Monk's House, (Lewes, East Sussex) National Trust UK
  • PC-MONT = Montacute House, (Montacute, Somerset) National Trust UK
  • PC-MOSE = Moseley Old Hall, (Wolverhampton, West Midlands) National Trust UK
  • PC-MOTT = Mottisfont Abbey Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-MSTE = Mount Stewart House, (Newtownards, Co. Down, N. Ire.) National Trust UK
  • PC-MTMG = Mottistone Manor Garden, (Mottistone, Isle of Wight) National Trust UK
  • PC-NOST = Nostell Priory, (Nr Wakefield, West Yorkshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-NUNN = Nunnington Hall, (York, North Yorkshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-NYMM = Nymans, National Trust UK
  • PC-OBSC = Old Blundell's School, (Tiverton, Devon) National Trust UK
  • PC-ORME = Ormesby Hall, (Middlesbrough, Cleveland) National Trust UK
  • PC-OSTR = Osterley Park and House, (Isleworth, Middlesex) National Trust UK
  • PC-OVER = Overbeck's, (Salcombe, Devon) National Trust UK
  • PC-OXBU = Oxburgh Hall, (Nr King's Lynn, Norfolk) National Trust UK
  • PC-PACK = Packwood House, (Solihull, Warwickshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-PCPN = Plant Conservation Programme, National Trust UK
  • PC-PECK = Peckover House and Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-PENR = Penrhyn Castle, National Trust UK
  • PC-PETW = Petworth House and Park, (Petworth, Sussex) National Trust UK
  • PC-PLAS = Plas Newydd, (Llanfairpwll, Isle of Anglesey) National Trust UK
  • PC-POLE = Polesden Lacy, (Nr Dorking, Surrey) National Trust UK
  • PC-POWC = Powis Castle and Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-PROR = Prior Park, (Bath, Somerset) National Trust UK
  • PC-PYNR = Plas Yn Rhiw, (Pwllheli, Gwynedd, Wales) National Trust UK
  • PC-QBNK = Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate, National Trust UK
  • PC-RIEV = Rievaulx Terrace & Temples, (York, North Yorkshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-ROWA = Rowallane Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-RUFF = Rufford Old Hall, (Nr Ormskirk, Lancashire) National Trust UK
  • PC-SALT = Saltram, National Trust UK
  • PC-SCOT = Scotney Castle, (Turnbridge Wells, Kent) National Trust UK
  • PC-SHAW = Shaw's Corner, (Nr Welwyn, Hertfordshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-SHEF = Sheffield Park Garden, (Uckfield, Sussex) National Trust UK
  • PC-SHER = Sheringham, (Sheringham, Norfolk) National Trust UK
  • PC-SHUG = Shugborough Estate, (Nr Stafford, Warwickshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-SISS = Sissinghurst Castle Garden, (Nr Cranbrook, Kent) National Trust UK
  • PC-SIZC = Sizergh Castle, (Nr Kendal, Cumbria) National Trust UK
  • PC-SNOW = Snowshill Manor, (Broadway, Worchestershire) National Trust UK
  • PC-SPEK = Speke Hall, (Liverpool, Merseyside) National Trust UK
  • PC-SPRG = Springhill, (Magherafelt, Co. Londonderry, N. Ire) National Trust UK
  • PC-STAG = Stagshaw Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-STAN = Standen, (East Grinstead, Sussex) National Trust UK
  • PC-STMM = St Michael's Mount, (Nr Penzance, Cornwall) National Trust UK
  • PC-STON = Stoneacre, (Maidstone, Kent) National Trust UK
  • PC-STOU = Stourhead, National Trust UK
  • PC-STOW = Stowe Landscape Gardens, National Trust UK
  • PC-SUNN = Sunnycroft, (Telford, Shropshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-TARG = The Argory, (Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland) National Trust UK
  • PC-TATT = Tatton Park, (Knutsford, Cheshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-TINT = Tintinhull Garden, (Nr Yeovil, Somerset) National Trust UK
  • PC-TREL = Trelissick Garden, (Nr Truro, Cornwall) National Trust UK
  • PC-TREN = Trengwainton Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-TRER = Trerice, (Nr Newquay, Cornwall) National Trust UK
  • PC-TYNT = Tyntesfield, National Trust UK
  • PC-UPTN = Upton House and Garden, National Trust UK
  • PC-VYNE = The Vyne, (Basingstoke, Hampshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-WADD = Waddesdon Manor, (Nr Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-WAKE = Wakehurst Place, (Haywards Heath, Sussex) National Trust UK
  • PC-WALL = Wallington, National Trust UK
  • PC-WASH = Washington Old Hall, (Washington Village, Tyne & Wear) National Trust UK
  • PC-WEIR = The Weir, (Nr Hereford, Herefordshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-WESTG = Westbury Court Garden, (Westbury-On-Severn, Gloucestershire) National Trust UK
  • PC-WESTM = Westwood Manor, (Bradford-On-Avon) National Trust UK
  • PC-WIGH = Wightwick Manor, (Wolverhampton, West Midlands) National Trust UK
  • PC-WGHG = West Green House Garden, (Basingstoke, Hampshire) National Trust UK
  • PC-WIMP = Wimpole Hall, National Trust UK
  • PC-WINK = Winkworth Arboretum, (Godalming, Surrey) National Trust UK
  • PC-WORD = Wordsworth House, (Cockermouth, Cumbria) National Trust UK
  • PC-WWYP = West Wycombe Park, (West Wycombe, Bucks) National Trust UK

PlantCollections Goals

Proof of concept

PlantCollections – A Community Solution was created to prove that the exchange of plant records data originating from different database management systems in institutions with varying technology support was feasible through a Portal on the World Wide Web.

Community approach

The institutions participating in this project realized an effort of this magnitude is beyond the scope of a single institution. Only through working together and sharing responsibilities could the project be successful and sustainable.

Freedom of access, data users

The institutions participating in the PlantCollections – A Community Solution project have agreed to make their information freely available on the WWW in an effort to enable scientists, educators and gardeners to better understand plants and their role in the natural world.

Federated Schema

Scientists from eight disciplines and plant recorders from each of the participating botanic gardens and arboreta were surveyed to create a federated schema containing the data fields desired by the scientific community that were also available in plant record databases.

Access to a broad array of information stored in botanic gardens and arboreta

PlantCollections is dedicated to providing access to plant related data stored in living plant, herbarium, DNA, seed storage, image and pickled specimen databases.

Classes of information provided

PlantCollections expands upon previous biodiversity efforts by including a broad range of information including:

  • Nomenclature information related to the scientific names, common names and trademarks
  • Locations where plants are collected contain latitude and longitude, names of other species in the area when the plants were collected and soil characteristics.
  • Plant collecting expeditions including the names of participating scientists, the dates of collection, and the type of plant material that was collected.
  • Ornamental and phenological characteristics observed in cultivation; colors of flowers, foliage, fruit and winter interest.
  • Images, documented true to name illustrating the key identification characteristics used to distinguish taxa.
  • Commercial sources if the plants originated from a nursery.
  • Conservation status at regional, national and international levels are reported.

Information formats supported

Information can be viewed online or downloaded as spreadsheets, and images. These formats can reflect information from all of the participants or a selection of the participants as defined by the data user. Collated reports will include the name of the institution providing the records.

Sustainability

The software applications developed for the PlantCollections project, the partners providing hardware resources, and the costs to add new partners have all been carefully managed to create a long term sustainable resource.

Collaborations

Significant collaborations have already been realized and more are on the horizon.

Expansion of the project

Expansion of the PlantCollections project to additional institutions within the USA and around the World is a key goal. Portal access for non-English speakers is a critical element to the long term success of the project. Key institutions at a national or continental level will create regional centers for the expansion of the project. The governing board (primary partners) of the PlantCollections project will include representatives from these national and continental expansions.

Software Applications in PlantCollections

The Plant Collections project is intended to provide a mechanism for participants to share their garden accession information with other partners and the public with the intention of improving general knowledge about garden collection and their content by combining the information from multiple sources.

Source Databases

Botanic gardens and arboreta use a variety of different software applications to maintain a list of their accessions along with various attributes describing each accession, or more generally, the group of organisms know by the same name (e.g. species, variety, genus, family). Different gardens may also choose to utilize different models for representing this information in their database. For example, the field containing the family name for an accession may be labeled "family" or "family_name". More importantly, the representation of content may also differ for the same attribute. For example, a date may be stored as three fields (year, month, day), could be a "date" type in the database, or could be a string.

Main Data Store

All these differences for storing data by different institutions impedes sharing of information, and so requires a mechanism to translate the contents to a common model. The common model for the Plant Collections project is described at http://plants.ecoforge.net/wiki/schema. For the initial implementation of the Plant Collections project, it was decided to utilize Google Base as a common data store. By adopting Google Base, the cost of initial implementation was dramatically reduced, and the open standards used for communicating with Google Base ensures that application developed by the Plant Collections project can be easily ported to an alternative database system as necessary. All communication with Google Base in this project is performed using the Atom and JSON protocols.

A replacement for the Google Base data store is a long term goal. The replacement for Google Base adopted by the Plant Collections project ideally will require little change to existing software tools. It will provide significant benefits to the project though, by providing complete independence from a commercial entity and the opportunity to fine tune the data store as necessary for project requirements.

Synchronizer

The role of the synchronizer is to translate content from a source database (i.e. an institution's collection database) and upload content to the main data store (currently Google Base). The synchronizer is a Python application that is cross platform and should connect with any collection database. Whilst the synchronizer is cumbersome to configure, once that task is completed, the actual process of uploading new and changed content to the central store is essentially an automatic, hands-off process.

Portal

The portal application provides a user interface to the main data store used by the project. It is implemented using the Ruby on Rails application, so should run on any system that has an internet connection and supports the most commonly used web browsers. The look and feel of the portal is easily customized, and it is intended to be installed by any Plant Collections partner that would like to provide access to the project data from their institution.

The portal makes use of a number of open source libraries, including Turbogears, sqlite, and the gdata library.

The current implementation of the portal is version 1.0 release, and is expected to change as the project and it's participants evolve over time.