Flora Identifications- more and more reliance on net

With omnipresent mobile and net, I have the feeling that people are more and more going to rely on net in their identifications rather than books etc.
I always remember and appreciate Rawat ji’s words in this matter- a picture says more than a thousand words. Photographs are so beautiful and give so much details that it will always be difficult for any herbarium specimen or a book to match. These are so easy to comprehend even to a layman. 
Our group and site is surely going to play a major role in this as far as Indian Flora is concerned. With increased focus on accuracy (which is only going to increase with passing time), I do not see a day far when our top taxonomists will appreciate its value and rely on its identifications.

Yes …! Rightly said.
I fully agree with your thoughts, …

Me as a plain naturalist, would always like to see more and more pictures showing characteristic and differentiating features of genus and close species be put together for comparison.
Also, those plants which look confusingly similar, have to be put together for sake of comparison.

Yes, …,  That is what we are trying to do now.

Apart from common people even researchers now a days feel that identification of plants is a kids game and they restrict themselves from undertaking such research work and instead search for pics and info on google. WHICH IS NOT GOOD FOR SCIENCE!!

Few years back I met one so called aspiring PhD student who told me that he doesn’t want to do CHHOTA KAAM like taxonomy and ethnobotany.
I am not saying that our eflora is not important. What I mean to say is such attitude of researchers is not good for science.
Our efloraofindia india is a selfless effort to organise a huge knowledge bank which no one can ever replace. 

Thanks, …
You are perfectly right in saying this until we have lot of sites giving accurate information with pictures.
However, there is no denying that ultimately we have to rely on Type materials and its literature on final say.
If anyone goes through both of these there is a lot more clarity in one’s mind, which researchers should definitely do.

We do not get correct images in the web all the time. When we type name of one sp. it gives images of other sp. Why is that so? It would have been more helpful to learners like us if it gives correct image of the sp. we look for.

Authentic images help in instant recognition and they are complimenting the taxonomic studies.

The Shenzhen Code has given complete freedom that any illustration in the original description should be treated as the type. This means in case any specimen indicated as the type in the protologue is lost or not traceable after considerable efforts, any original illustration, if available, can be designated as the lectotype of the given name.

crux of this  entire conversation is “authentic” and “illustration”

that includes the properly shown all diagnostic features, in proper lighting, with a size perception possible. in case
of illustration is properly made black and white drawings
with a scale shown, as is seen in most academic paper.
all photographers would need to aspire to this standard for digital photography to become important in diagnosis
Well said by … followed by valuable inputs from other members. Yes. the eflora website goes a long way in helping many students/ researchers besides common man interested in plants. In this connection I have a question: Is there any web site which can identify the plants by posting images of  flowers/fruits/ leaves etc. I remember to have seen one. But I have forgotten and unable to trace.

Thanks, … But I do not remember one. 

there are apps nowadays
1: to identify trees from leaves on iTunes:

Leafsnap 4+

Columbia University, University of Maryland, and Smithsonian Institution

      • Free

    works mainly for north american trees. needs perfect pictures of the leaves. released in 2012 was not popular.

in 2011 its cost was a dollar not sold a lot but recently it seems to be efficient with NYC and DC urban street trees.’ leaves.
thats all i know. about this one.
—
then there is 
 iTrees app  developed by an indian Rhodes scholar 
reported in some news oultet in 2015. not much in use it seems in 2018.
i found it in an inews on the net
its old nes
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and overall tree shape and leaf etc the the Audubon guides for trees of north america etc are excellent bulky but excellent.
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if people are using it i would like to know

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