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Newsletter: January 2024

Waheed Arshad, PhD
February 1, 2024

Maintaining a high standard of data quality in plant records is a difficult challenge for many. This is why we’re continuously working to improve this situation for you and your team. 

Throughout January, we introduced several features to help refine your data quality and get the most out of it. We also added a new feedback submission feature and a support article to guide you through cleaning up your scientific names.

Below you will find more about how January’s highlights can help you manage your collection, including a guest blog from Wave Hill.

Integration with Plants of the World Online

Do you have difficulties keeping track of plant names? Then you will be happy to know that, just before the New Year, we extended the integration with Plants of the World Online to include species, lower ranks, and synonyms. This means fewer errors, speedier data entry, and better data quality across the board.

Date filtering

Did you find date filtering in Hortis cumbersome? Well, we listened to your feedback and improved how filtering works. With greater options, this update allows you to use a single date or a date range – simply choose from the preset options provided or apply your own custom values via the calendar.

Enhanced feedback on desktop

Feedback is a great motivator for our work and crucial in helping us improve. It is now easier than ever to share your thoughts directly within Hortis. Simply click on "Feedback" to rate your experience on any page. You can even highlight a specific element that you love or dislike in two clicks!

Cleaning up your taxonomy [Support Article]

Now that shared taxonomy is available, you may be wondering how to fix the misspelt names you have in your database. With our new video, you can work through cleaning up your names and improving the quality of your dataset. Name validation in Hortis enhances the quality of your taxonomy and provides extra metadata via Plants of the World Online and Catalogue of Life

Updates to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

As we announced in December, we have made a few minor changes in our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy to help us better serve the community while maintaining the highest privacy and security standards for everyone. These updated policies went into effect on January 4, 2024.

Making Plant Records Useful Again: A Wave Hill Success Story

Read the transformative journey undertaken by Wave Hill, a renowned public garden nestled in Riverdale, Bronx, NY, in resurrecting their plant records. This is our latest guest article authored by Wave Hill staff Jess Brey, Ruth Rea Howell Senior Horticultural Interpreter, and Steven Conaway, PhD, Associate Director of Horticulture.

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