Hi Wendy.

Thanks. I have the one catt that survived, and have now bought two
more catts, a paph and a phrag.

Next month, and the big show in Guelph, I hope to pick up some phals
and maybe a vanilla (mostly to show my neices and nephews where vanilla
comes from). I'm not sure I'll live long enough to see an orchid the
size of vanilla bloom (I understand they have to get huge before
they'll bloom), but according to a cheesy site the Ontario ministry of
health has (that computes life expectancy based on simple genetic
patterns and current state of health), I ought to live to at least 90,
so that's another 40 years. But with my diabetes, it often feels like
I won't see next month. :-(

Actually, I have conceived a design for a web application that may
prove useful to both growers and consumers. Wat I was thinking is that
the application would provide two different ways to identify, as well
as one can, plants. One method would be based on illustrated keys
where available, and the other would be based on numerical taxonomic
methods. This latter method would require a considerable database of
known specimens to provide a basis for, e.g., discriminant functions
analysis, the output of which can be used to identify unknown specimens
that are clearly related to specimens already in the database. In
response to a user entering a detailed description of the plant he
wants idenitified, he would get a web page that identifies the species,
hybrids or cultivars that are most similar to the unknown specimen, or
a message that the unknown specimen isn't like anything presently in
the database. The result page would also have a link to culture sheets
as well as a description of where the plant is normally found, a basic
description of its ecology, and links to vendors who normally carry it
or who currently have it in stock. I even thougt it could provide an
interface where growers can enter growth and environmental data
(temperature, humidity, &c.), so that empirical data can be available
for viewing so the curious can explore the range of environmental
conditions and cultural treatments in which a given plant has been
grown and how it has responded to these. This data could be
sufficiently detailed to allow assessment of the natural variability in
all plants and provide a basis for various kinds of scientific
research. I would have, as a result of my own background as a research
scientist, web pages in the application designed to support fellow
scientists who are interested in doing basic taxonomic and ecological
research using the associated database.

I invite comment both from orchid vendors and orchid lovers, both
newbies and old hands, on this idea. Are there any other features,
beyond what I described, you'd like to see to make it really, really
useful to you personally or professionally? Of course, I recognise
that this idea applies generally in horticulture, but that is another
issue. Is this a kind of resource you'd be willing to pay for (either
subscription fees for consumers, or advertising for vendours)? At
present, I do not have the resources to develop this without making it
available as a commercial venture.

Cheers,

Ted


R.E. (Ted) Byers, Ph.D., Ed.D.
R & D Decision Support Solutions
http://www.randddecisionsupportsolutions.com/
Healthy Living Through Informed Decision Making