arboretum appFirst-time visitors and regulars to Washington Park Arboretum can now learn the names and origins of plants as well as save favorites while strolling through the grounds.

A new interactive map for smartphones and tablets shows every plant and tree that’s part of the arboretum’s collection, now numbering more than 15,000. Visitors can pull up the map on their phones, locate themselves, then zoom in to see which plants are nearby.

Each colored dot displays details about the plant, including its scientific and common name, where it came from, images on Google and last-reported condition. The map also gives “accession” information, which means the year it was planted in the arboretum and, more specifically, the order in which it was planted in relation to other plants of the same year.

Read more at UW Today »