This project aims to develop digital plant models for the flora of the world. The name is taken from the Latin word for garden, hortus, and the Latin word for world, mundus and is inspired by the work of Basilius Besler (1561-1629) who published the codex Hortus Eystettensis in 1613.
A draft list of fields to record for each model:
- Common name(s)
- Botanic name(s)
- Description
- Quantifiable plant attributes (ie USDA Hardiness Zone, Mature size, water use, required sunlight amount, flower color, and many more)
- Web links (Wikipedia, iNaturalist, USDA Plant database, etc)
- Photos
- Illustrations
- Botanically accurate procedural 3D models (ie Speedtree)
- Hero 3D models (non-procedural and visually beautiful)
- Distribution map
- Species Distribution Model (a predictive distribution map of where the plant may be suitable to grow)
- Plant Community (relational field for other plants that grow as part of the same local system)
- And many more ...
The primary goal of this project is to digitally model the flora of the world. This will be done by creating a database of plant models that can be used in a variety of applications. The data will be open source and freely available to the public for any use via a REST API.
The secondary goal of this project is to create a community of plant enthusiasts who are interested in contributing to the project. This will be done by creating a platform for people to share their knowledge and expertise about plants.
We are looking for people who are interested in contributing to this project. If you are interested in contributing, please join us in Github discussions for the project found at www.github.com/pljspahn/hortus-mundus/discussions.
This project is in its infancy. We are currently working on the initial database schema and API design. We are also working on a web application to allow users to contribute to the project.
Initially, a single plant model will be developed to use as a template for additional entries going forward. This plant has not yet been chosen.