Full Breakdown
Michigan Flora App Brings Offline Plant Identification to Mobile Users
7/14/2026, 11:45:07 AM
Launch and Core Functionality
University of Michigan researchers released the Michigan Flora mobile application, extending the existing Michigan Flora Online guide to iOS and Android platforms. The app operates without an internet connection, allowing users to identify plants in the field where cell service may be unavailable. It employs a dichotomous key that presents paired descriptive questions; users select the option that best matches their observation until the species is determined.
Development Background and Goals
The project builds on the Michigan Flora online database, a comprehensive catalog of the state’s vascular plants. Developers aimed to create a more organized, phone-friendly layout than the website’s mobile view while preserving offline capability. By integrating the herbarium’s specimen records, the app supplies location maps for each species, offering “very Michigan-specific information” to field users.
Key Personnel and Partnerships
Brad Ruhfel, research collection manager for the University of Michigan Herbarium, led the app’s design and implementation. The University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology provided the botanical expertise and data infrastructure that underpin the identification key and species-level details.
User Features and Accessibility
Beyond the dichotomous key, the app allows direct searches for known plant names, displaying photographs, descriptive paragraphs, and distribution maps derived from herbarium specimens. Technical terminology within the key is underlined; tapping a term reveals a pop-up definition, eliminating the need for prior botanical knowledge. Since launch, the application has amassed thousands of downloads across both major mobile platforms.
Verbatim Quotes
- “One of the main things is to be able to have this on your phone in a little more easier organizational layout than a squished-down web page on your phone, but then to not need cell service,” — Brad Ruhfel, UM Herbarium research collection manager
- “Anytime there's a word that's underlined in the key, that usually means it's a technical term, and you can just press on it, and then a bubble will pop up with a definition for that,” — Brad Ruhfel
- “You can see the photos, there will be a paragraph of information, and then it gives you a map of all the places in Michigan where we have specimens.” — Brad Ruhfel
