PlantFiles feature suggestions

Probably these have been suggested before, but here's my $0.02 ...

1) Add a "not" option to the advanced search page - could either be additional fields or something we could enter using boolean notation like the Google advanced search. Example: Let's say I'm trying to ID a plant that appears to be a hibiscus but not a tropical H. rosa-sinensis ... but there are a zillion cultivars of H. rosa-sinensis in PF so a search by only Genus = Hibiscus is not very helpful. So if we could search for Genus = Hibiscus and not Species = rosa-sinensis that would be nice. Same goes for other genera like Solanum (don't need to see every S. tuberosum potato) etc.

2) Add a "copy" option to the "Add a plant" function. When adding a new cultivar or subspecies of an existing PF entry, it's tedious to have to re-enter all the details if most of them are the same as the plain species (usually all that's different is the flower color and/or height). (Also: the "copy" option" should be available only for the plain species for a plant, to avoid carrying over cultivar- or subspecies-specific details.)

Something else that would be helpful, especially in an educational setting, is the place of origin. Granted, some plants are so common (or whatever) that it may be impossible to tell where they first appeared, but some origins can still be identified.

I just found this thread when it was bumped back up. Sorry Tom.

There is a search somewhat like what you are describing here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/advanced.php For the plant types that are listed, you can go in and search for the plants that have the chosen criteria.

You can also search for plants with only a cultivar name, or only those plants without a cultivar name by using the field by field search http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?Search=Click+here+to+search+for+plants and choosing which you want in the cultivar preerence field.

Having to enter all the information in for each new plant is tedious, I know. However, the potential for having a lot of incorrect information just copied over far outweighs any benefits. It's much less time consuming to enter the information correctly the first time than it is to try to hunt out the errors later.

Aarronlkarus, I believe the information you are asking for is already available for a large number of families, genera and species. Our Botanary data http://davesgarden.com/guides/botanary/ is linked to PlantFiles. In any PlantFile entry, if the family, genus or species is a hyperlink, one click will take you to that information in Botanary. Is this kind of what you are wanting?

Not exactly. Let me provide a (rather obvious) example: We have a half-dozen or so Norfolk Island Pines in our greenhouse. They are native to...well...Norfolk Island. We have a cactus that is native to Peru, and another that is native to eastern Mexico. This is the type of information I am looking for. Is there a place I can find it? Sorry if this post sounds a little condescending(?).

No, your post don't sound condescending at all. Thanks for explaining further what you were asking. I wasn't understanding.

Right now we don't have that information as a detail for each entry. Whether it may be added in the future is up to Dave and Terry. Maybe they will be along to address that.

That information is available in the comment section for some entries, and you are welcome to add any others as a comment also. It is valuable information.

Okay, thanks. I'll see what I have and start placing comments.