Plantstudy.com originated from an idea that was conspired in the Fall of 2000 to create a book on native plants. There are, of course, quite a few books on native plants. However, we felt that none of these really offered comprehensive information. Some had nice images, some had good textual information. Some had a lot of information on a few plants. Others had a little bit of information on a lot of plants. We wanted to author a book that would have a lot of information on a lot of plants with a lot of pictures.
As our project progressed forward we realized two important things. Firstly, we estimated that creating our book would take forever. Secondly, we realized the web was a much more appropriate format for what we were trying to accomplish. Using a web page it could be a constant work in progress rather than something we had to finished at a defined date. Additionally, a website would allow free access to anyone with an internet connection and a computer.
So we switched gears. Instead of discussing how to format the book, we discussed how to format the website. Following the logic of streamlining our production and improving quality we switched from film cameras to digital cameras. One aspect that actually ended up being a fairly difficult task, was naming the website. After originally settling on a different name, obtaining the domain, and creating a website around it we decided we didn’t like it and switched to the current (and permanent) name: plantstudy.com. This name is simple, to the point, comprehensive, and easy to remember. If you don’t like it - tough.
Plantstudy.com is a compilation of our photographs and our personal knowledge of the plants that we encounter. We focus on native plants of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, but do include images and information on non-native plants and plants from other parts of the world. The big picture idea is to increase knowledge of, and foster appreciation for all plants. However, an underlying theme is that plants that originated in a region, or migrated there without the help of man are generally the most appropriate plants for that landscape. I won’t get far into the arguments of why here, but will say that organisms that have evolved over a long period of time together have usually achieved some type of balance. When something is introduced into an environment that has not previously been a part of the mix, the consequences can be relatively benign, but sometimes can be severe and even mean the extirpation of other organisms. One goal of the website is to document some of these organisms before they disappear from a site or disappear altogether. But most of all, we have created this website to share our exploration of the plant world with you.