CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 02/26/14

Native Plants of North Georgia app aims to help hikers, teachers and homeowners identify the plants around them

By Merritt Melancon

Spring is around the corner, and University of Georgia Extension has a new app to help families and outdoor enthusiasts make the most of those first springtime hikes.

Native Plants of North Georgia, now available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices, is a consumer-oriented field guide of the flowers, trees, ferns and shrubs that populate north Georgia’s lawns and forests.

Stationed in the heart of the Chattahoochee National Forest, UGA Extension Coordinator for Union County and the apps’ content author, Mickey Cummings, has spent his career identifying plants for day-trippers, hikers and homeowners in north Georgia.

“I started wanting to create a collection of photographs that backpackers could use to identify plants on the trail,” Cummings said. “All the reference material I was working with was too large to pack, and we wanted something that would be easy for people to use.”

He first developed a hard copy of his guide, a pocket-sized laminated flipbook, in May 2008 to help the public identify local plants on the fly. UGA Extension has sold more than 1,000 copies of that original book and the free online edition has been viewed more than 6,000 times.

Representatives from Southern Regional Extension Forestry, UGA Extension and the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of Information Technology decided to use the popular guide as a pilot project in their development of mobile applications for UGA Extension.

The app, developed by application programmer Benaiah Morgan, allows the public to browse photos of plants organized by their blooming periods and includes leaf and bloom descriptions as well as scientific and common names.

Other UGA Extension faculty members have collaborated on apps in recent years, mostly focusing on horticulture, pest management and turfgrass management. However, Native Plants of North Georgia is the first app to be produced by the UGA Extension publications and Extension digital productions team.

All versions of this app are free and ready for download through the Apple App Store and Google Play. A PDF version of the guide is available for free download and the original pocket-sized flipbooks are still available for purchase ($12.00) by visiting www.caes.uga.edu/publication.

UGA Extension offers hundreds of free-to-download, research-based publications providing information on everything from home vegetable gardening to pest control to native plant identification. For more information about the library of information available visit extension.uga.edu or www.caes.uga.edu/publication.

Merritt Melancon is a public relations manager with UGA's Terry College of Business and previously served as a public relations coordinator for the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Extension.

Authors:
Merritt Melancon
Experts/Sources:
Mickey P. Cummings
Spring is around the corner, and University of Georgia Extension has a new app to help families and outdoor enthusiasts make the most of those first springtime hikes. “Native Plants of North Georgia,” now available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices, is a consumer-oriented field guide of the flowers, trees, ferns and shrubs that populate North Georgia's yards and forests.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
A student harvests red clover at UGArden. CAES News
UGA horticulture class shows students the science behind herbal remedies 04/16/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
The field of medicine is ever-changing, and the use of herbal medicines may play a bigger role in health care as the value of natural remedies gain recognition in the Western world. Students at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are delving into the field of medicinal remedies through the class “Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants.” Offered to undergraduate students through the Department of Horticulture, the class helps students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between nature and health.
Peach growers are looking forward to a fruitful season as the weather this winter and spring have been near-perfect for the sensitive crop. This year is projected to be a much-needed comeback from the disastrous season they experienced after a late freeze in March 2023 took out more than 90% of the state's crop. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA) CAES News
Growers hopeful 2024 peach season will rebound from disastrous 2023 04/10/24 Emily Cabrera
Last year, the peach industry lost $60 million due to the late freeze that hit much of the Southeast in mid-March 2023, said Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent for Peach and Taylor counties. With no freezing temperatures in the forecast and hope for strong pricing during the upcoming season, peach growers are looking forward to a much-needed rebound year.
A mug of UGArden's chamomile tea. CAES News
UGArden herbal tea program launches sales in campus dining halls 03/21/24 Jordan Powers
The door to UGArden’s herb drying room leads to an olfactory explosion — sharp peppermint, earthy tulsi, sweet calendula and floral chamomile mix into an herbal perfume that would undoubtedly have tea drinkers reaching for their kettles. Now University of Georgia students will be able to get a taste of UGArden’s chamomile tea, along with a selection of the student community farm’s other herbal teas, with their campus meals as the UGArden medicinal herb program expands into UGA dining halls this spring.
A seldom recognized and underappreciated benefit of community clean-up programs is the permanent elimination of larval mosquito habitats. Some of the most common mosquito pests around the world develop in the containers, litter, debris and used tires that are commonly collected during a clean-up event. CAES News
Community clean-ups are an important part of mosquito management 03/11/24 Elmer Gray
Spring is approaching and now is a great time to schedule a community clean-up event. These events can be organized by citizens, civic groups or local governments and often have a theme or targeted area in a town or community. Clean-up events provide many benefits to a community including raising the awareness of litter prevention, developing pride in our communities and restoring the natural environment.
Exterior of the Administration Building front entrance on a blue sky spring day. CAES News
Newest round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants awarded 03/05/24 Olivia Randall
Ten university-wide projects devoted to advancing interdisciplinary research across multiple application areas have been awarded Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants as part of the 2023 cohort. The Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grant Program was launched in 2017 and offered again in 2019 and 2021 through a partnership between the offices of Research and Public Service and Outreach. These 10 awards were chosen from 70 proposals and reflect a commitment of $1 million from UGA President Jere W. Morehead.
Iteago Felton with the animals at his family's farm, 3T Farms in Lincolnton, Georgia. CAES News
Farm Again program helps veterans reconnect with the land 02/13/24 Carlisa Johnson
For many veterans, returning to civilian life is a stark shift from their fast-paced and service-based military life. When you combine this with the more than 4.7 million veterans who have service-based disabilities, the challenges of re-entry compound. The University of Georgia is working to assist Georgia’s veterans with this transition through its dynamic farming program, Farm Again.