What’s new?

Improved observations

Keeping your collection inventory up-to-date can be a challenge. Hortis Observations offers a structured and efficient way to stay on top of regular plant check-ins. We've now expanded this feature—allowing you to add photos and rich text comments to better document any changes or concerns as you spot them.

New dashboard graphs give you a clear, visual summary of your observation activity, including the number of materials checked and their condition. These insights help you monitor the overall health of your collection and set meaningful targets for ongoing observation efforts.

Rich text notes

We've enhanced recording notes in Hortis with added support for formatting and linking, giving you more flexibility in how you document your collection. Add lists, headers, and emphasis to create structured, easy-to-reference content.

Seamlessly connect your notes to relevant information. Type @ to link directly to records in your collection, or add links to external documents—such as permits and assessments—so essential information stays accessible in context.

Public QR codes

Share your collection with visitors through scannable QR codes. When scanned, visitors will be taken directly to your public plant records where they can explore and learn about your collection. You can download QR codes as SVG or PNG files from the public site settings page.

For custom QR code creation, public plant URLs are available as a column when downloading your materials list as a CSV.

Flexible accession numbers

Accession numbers can now be freely set and updated with new formatting options. Apply a new numbering format to an existing record or seamlessly insert a new number between existing ones.

• Automatic assigns the next available number using the standard format (accession year followed by a sequence number)
• Standard allows the sequence number to be set, which was previously only assigned automatically
• Custom allows free entry of any number that does not match the standard format

You’ll find these options available when creating or updating your accessions.

Simplified accessioning

Supercharge your workflow with the reimagined accession form. The compact new design puts everything you need at your fingertips, focusing on key data while providing easy access to additional sections. Open the form directly from the sidebar to create an accession without navigating from your current page.

We've also made recording materials smoother. Save time by duplicating existing materials to avoid repetitive data entry and add photos immediately, without needing to create the material first.

Location drawing

Designing a comprehensive map of your plants can be time-consuming. Instead of mapping each plant, you can now draw locations that contain multiple materials on your Hortis map. Having mapped locations simplifies finding associated plants without having to plot their exact position.

To get started, navigate to the new locations tab on the map list. This table allows you to search, filter and create locations for easy management.

Once you've selected a location, you’ll find the option to start drawing, as well as view the materials associated with the location.

New wild collection fields

Additional fields have been added to the accession wild collection section, including collector information, associated taxa, habitat and remarks. Helping you record a more comprehensive picture of an accession’s origins.

Material sex field

Recording a material’s sex is now possible through a selection of predefined options. You can enable the new field from your site settings.

Context menu

To help streamline your workflow and make data management more efficient, we've introduced a new Context Menu! You can now use right-click to allow you to:

• Edit records without navigating away from your current view
• Download records for offline access or sharing
• Trash Records instantly
• Copy key data like Scientific Name, Common Name, and Accession Number to your clipboard.‍

If multiple records are selected, you can also perform batch actions via the context menu to support alternative workflows, saving you even more time.

Refreshed records

We have updated the material, accession, and taxon record pages to enhance usability. These pages now feature a reorganized layout for improved clarity, grouping related data more intuitively. Each section includes relevant actions, making it easier to make changes.

As you navigate your collection, you will find records are now consistently displayed, with refined navigation that provides context for each page.

‍Hierarchy menu

A new hierarchy menu at the top of each record offers quick navigation between associated records, helping provide an intuitive understanding of their relationships.

Creator and last editor filters

Finding staff contributions is now easier with our new "Creator" and "Last Editor" filters. These filters enable you to quickly locate records based on who added or last modified them. Whether you’re collaborating with a large team or tracking changes for audit purposes, you now have a clear overview of your collection’s history and contributions. Simply tap "View" to customise your table to show and hide these new columns.

Public sites

Increase your collection’s reach and impact by sharing your collection online. We’ve created a new user-friendly app for the public. Visitors can explore a site’s collection by browsing taxa or locating plants on the garden’s map. Gardens can also share their website and contact email for visitors to learn more or get in touch. Records are private by default but can be made public with new batch actions, giving users full control over what they share.

A demo of public sites can be seen here, with further support documentation available here.

‍New Public-Facing App

Map Page:

• ‍View and search plants on the site’s map. Access individual plant details, including a photo, introduction year, location, taxon info and related plants.

Browse Page:

• Search and view the site’s taxa. Access detailed taxon information, including descriptions (Wikipedia/custom), climate, distribution, IUCN Red List status, family, and associated plants.

Site Details:‍

• View site information, including description, location, website, and contact email.

Hortis In-App Management

Public Site Settings:

• Configure site details through a new settings page.
• View public plants with links to both in-app record and public record.

Public Plants Table:

• Perform batch actions to make plants public or private.
• Filter plants by their public status.

Material Pages:‍

• Toggle plants between public and private.

New batch actions!

Three new batch actions for materials have landed, allowing you to quickly make changes to multiple materials at once. Remember you can access the actions menu at any time by selecting a record.

• Make observations: Update the observation date and condition
• Change statuses: Including making materials absent with the date removed
• Change locations: Move multiple materials to a different location

Actions menu

To help you manage your data with more ease, we have introduced an action menu. After selecting records, you can now perform the following via the actions menu:

• Trash selected records
• Download selected records
• Add tags to selected records
• Remove tags from selected records

The actions menu can be opened via the button on desktop and mobile, or using the displayed keyboard shortcut.

Batch delete

• Users are now able to batch delete selected Taxa records from the organisation’s taxa list
• Users are now able to batch delete selected Accessions and Plant Material records from the collection site list
• This paves the way for further batch actions requested by the community

Expand photos

• Open up a larger photo by clicking thumbnail photos throughout the app
• Navigate between related photos from the expanded photo
• Mark as featured, edit and delete photos from the expanded photo

Shared taxonomic data

Are you a conservation enthusiast or just curious about the impact of your collection? With this release, new factual data is now available for your taxa – without the need for any action!

• View and filter IUCN Red List status, life forms, native distribution and climate in data tables for all record types
• New derived data section on taxa pages displaying additional fields, including link to IUCN Red List evaluation
• New IUCN Red List donut to dashboard showing breakdown of statuses in the collection site
• Native distribution is now derived from metadata and can be overridden using existing interpretation field
• New taxa columns are now available when downloading record CSVs
• For more details on how IUCN assessments were handled using Plants of the World Online as the backbone, see here

Date filtering

Looking for more flexibility when filtering the dates in your collection? Now you can filter plant materials by their Last observed, Date added and Date removed fields. You can also filter accessions by their Accession date and Deaccession date. This update allows records to be filtered using a single date or across a date range – simply choose from the preset dates provided or apply your own custom values via the calendar.

Enhanced feedback on desktop

Your feedback is the fertiliser for our work, and is crucial in helping us improve. Now it's 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 by adding it to your feedback in two clicks!

Updates to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

We are pleased to announce that we have updated our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy with a few minor changes. These updated policies go into effect from January 4, 2024.

You can download a redaction of the changes on these links: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

We are committed to providing our users with the best possible experience, and these updates are part of that commitment. We believe that these changes will help us better serve the community while maintaining the highest standards of privacy and security.

Species-level shared taxonomy

Keeping track of plant names and synonyms is a major challenge for most gardens. That is why we’re thrilled to announce this huge milestone to help you with your scientific names. The integration with Plants of the World Online (POWO) is now extended to include species, lower ranks, and synonyms.

Shared taxonomy is not just about name validation; it's about helping all users with a unified backbone and a taxonomic opinion. This means fewer errors, speedier data entry, and better data quality across the board.

From authorship being automatically derived, to a streamlined flow for recording new taxa, this feature represents significant changes to the way you can incorporate taxonomic data.

Here’s a closer look at what this release means for you:

• Shared scientific names expanded to include species and lower ranks (infraspecies) from POWO
• Updated taxon scientific name autocomplete to help match on new ranks
• Improved new taxon flow when creating a new accession
• Automatically derive or override a taxon’s authorship from a verified species or infraspecies
• Added new validation column to taxa tables with filtering on rank, status, and unvalidated
• All users’ existing taxa names have been validated (98.3% names validated to at least a genus, and 78.8% validated to a species level name)

Where is my trash?

Ever felt anxious deleting records, accidentally losing crucial data? We get it. That's why we added audit logs to Hortis early on, ensuring every change, even deletions, is securely stored. Now, you can easily review and restore needed records from your "trash" with the new "Site Trash Pages".

To use this feature, select "Site Trash" from the menu next to your site name in the navigation bar, or “Taxa Trash” from the menu next to your organisation name. This update ensures a more secure, manageable, and user-friendly experience in handling your unwanted records.

Enhanced data tables

Our new tables have all been enhanced with a number of new columns, filters and sorting options, to give you greater functionality when browsing your collection’s data.

• Taxa, accessions, and plant materials tables have been redesigned with a fresh layout
• Hide and show columns to customize your tables depending on your workflow
• Photos can now be viewed and filtered on in the materials table
• Materials overdue a follow-up can now be viewed and sorted
• Additional columns such as common name, tags and notes can be displayed
• Filter and sort on accession data such as provenance, and donor from the materials table
• + More filters, sorting and optional columns

Fixes and improvements

• ‍Improved genus validation in new accession input flow
• Fixed plant materials being incorrectly counted in search results
• Updated positioning of materials on the map so that users are navigated to the previous screen after changes are applied

Donor/Supplier autocomplete

Users now have suggestions of existing organisation donors/suppliers when creating and updating accessions. When filtering accessions, the suggestions are based on donors/suppliers from the current collection site.

Identification fields

Details around the taxonomic identification can now be recorded in new accession fields. These are designed to help institutions document the certainty of plant material identification, aligning with bioinformatics standards. You can opt-in to these fields using Site Settings.

• Add identification details when creating and updating accessions
• View identification qualifiers appended to the scientific name on accessions and associated plant materials

Download selected records

Users are now able to download selected records on both desktop and mobile. This sets up the framework for batch actions across the platform (such as updating and deleting records). This feature is especially handy when you need to export a specific subset of records after conducting searches or applying filters.