Online Weed ID now Bigger and Better
Screen shot of the expanded key.
Identification of New Zealand’s weeds has just become easier with an expanded online tool. The interactive key to Weed Species of New Zealand is available for use, free of charge, on the Landcare Research website.
As of January 2016, the key now covers more than 650 species (and subspecies, varieties, hybrids and cultivars) and is even more helpful for people seeking to identify weeds and pest plants from the naturalised flora.
The enlarged Weeds Key is a unique and extensive resource. It is a powerful tool that makes it easy to identify weedy plants without having to learn all the complex botanical terminology. Users choose whichever characters match the weed they are identifying through a process of elimination. If a user needs help to understand what a particular character means, they can bring up an explanation page for it.
Murray Dawson (Landcare Research) is the lead developer of the Weeds Key. Sheldon Navie (Technigro) provided data from similar keys he has developed in Australia. Trevor James (AgResearch) contributed the great majority of images from his outstanding collection. The remaining authors of the key, Peter Heenan (Landcare Research) and Paul Champion (NIWA) provided further images and specialist expertise.
“This key is the most comprehensive online tool there is for identifying New Zealand weeds,” said Murray. “It’s a perfect companion to the popular book An Illustrated Guide to Common Weeds of New Zealand and shares many of the images taken by Trevor James. Carolyn Lewis (Weedbusters), Jonathan Boow (Auckland Council), and others also helped by generously providing their images for the Weeds Key”, added Murray. The Weeds Key now contains about 11 000 images showing a range of features for each weed, including plant form, leaf, floral, fruit and seed characteristics. “We would be very happy to receive further images if anyone can improve on the ones we already have, or to fill any gaps. One of the great things about online tools is that you can continually update and improve them, providing funding is available,” said Murray.
The Weeds Key began life in 2007 as an identification tool to National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) species – plants banned from sale, distribution, and propagation in New Zealand. That project was completed in June 2009 with some 150 NPPA species and a similar number of related species and lookalikes included. Thanks mainly to successive funding from the Terrestrial & Freshwater Biodiversity Information System Programme (TFBIS), this resource grew in March 2011 to include all 328 species on the Department of Conservation’s consolidated list of environmental weeds. Five year later, the most recent (2016) expansion now covers all 370 Regional Pest Management Strategy (RPMS) species, and many more common weed species. In total, more than $440,000 has been invested in this resource. The Weeds Key includes links at the species level to related weed and pest plant resources – these include the websites of Weedbusters, AgPest, Ministry for Primary Industries, and Flora of NZ online weed profiles.
The Weeds Key is the most popular interactive plant key hosted by Landcare Research. Other keys available include the flowering plant genera, native and exotic grasses, native orchids, a Coprosma and a Cotoneaster key. Recently, Murray Dawson led the creation of smartphone versions (Android and iOS) of the online native orchid and Coprosma keys. Smartphones have rapidly become the device of choice for New Zealanders and the rest of the world. Their processing power, storage capacity, and portability have come of age, making it possible to run comprehensive productivity apps including identification tools. Uptake of this technology will continue to increase into the foreseeable future.
“Our smartphone ID apps have been very well received”, said Murray. “Weed identification apps are definitely the next step in the evolution of these useful resources,” he added. “But we need further funding for their development in New Zealand.”
This project was funded by the Terrestrial & Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) Programme. The TFBIS Programme is funded by the Government to help to achieve the goals of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, and is administered by the Department of Conservation.