Frequently Asked Questions about CASABIO

• What is CASABIO?

  CASABIO is an innovative new project, which aims to create a database of high-quality photographs and locality information for the plant species that occur in the Cape Metropolitan Area (CMA). Members of the public will be able to contribute their photos and information and will be able to access the database in a user-friendly form on the internet in order to learn more about the fascinating plant species in our area, more than 2800 of which are indigenous.

• What is an herbarium?

  Usually when we talk about an herbarium, we are referring to a collection of plant specimens (dried, pressed plants) with plant, habitat and locality information attached. The two biggest herbaria in Cape Town are the Compton Herbarium at Kirstenbosch, which contains over 800 000 specimens, and the smaller Bolus herbarium (300 000 specimens) at the University of Cape Town. CASABIO can be referred to as a virtual herbarium; a collection of digital photos and plant information, which makes it quick and easy to find what you're looking for, and which doesn't require the picking of rare and endangered plant species in order to log a collection.

• What will I be able to do on the CASABIO website

  CASABIO will be an extremely useful resource for anyone with a keen or even a passing interest in indigenous plants. On our website, you will be able to:

  • submit your plant photos and get them identified.
  • identify plants that you have seen or photographed yourself using our simple, user-friendly photographic and text based key.
  • search for photographs / information using a number of fields (e.g. species, area, flowering month, flower color etc).
  • download a list of species for any area in the CMA that you specify
  • meet and chat with other plant enthusiasts and like-minded people online, on a dedicated forum.

• Is there a need for a new identification guide?

  Currently, only one illustrated guide to the plants of the Peninsula exists (Mary Maytham Kidd's Cape Peninsula wildflower guide, soon to be released in updated form by Terry Trinder-Smith). Although this is a wonderful book, it contains just over 800 species (out of roughly 2200 on the Peninsula) and only one representative image of each of these species in the form of a small painting. There is also no guide which adequately covers the northerly and easterly sections of the Cape Town metropole, although the West Coast (Manning and Goldblatt) and Hottentots Holland to Hermanus (Burman and Bean) wildflower guides, do contain some of the species from those respective areas.
  
  With a database such as CASABIO, storage space is not a major concern, so we will be able, with your help, to assemble photographs of the majority of species in the CMA, within a reasonable period. In addition, each species will be represented by a number of good quality digital photos, which will allow the user to clearly see the different plant parts (leaves, flowers, fruit, whole plant etc.) and to get an idea of the variation within the species. Modern-day macro photography allows one to capture extremely detailed images of plant parts which may be useful in identification. Another major advantage is that CASABIO's digital format will make it very quick and easy to search for specific information or photos. For those who are not familiar with species names, botanical terms or plant characters, the ability to use a visual (photographic) key will make plant identification a lot more accessible.

• How will CASABIO benefit the public?

  Most Capetonians and visitors to our beautiful city are aware that we have, on our doorstep, one of the richest and most interesting floras on the planet, but not many people are able to identify anything more than the odd erica or protea. A better knowledge of our flora adds greatly to the enjoyment that can be had when hiking on our mountains, visiting our nature reserves or even walking along our road verges. CASABIO aims to make botany and �botanising� (plant hunting) more accessible and fun for the public, thereby increasing the value that people place upon our remaining areas of natural vegetation. Using the site to learn our local species, taking and submitting your own plant photos and/or accompanying the CASABIO team on outings, will not only be a fun, stimulating pastime, but will also teach valuable, markettable skills such as plant identification and photography. Finally, CASABIO will also be a useful educational tool, both for youngsters and adults.

• How will CASABIO benefit conservation and research?

  Surprisingly for a city which is considered to be one of three urban biodiverity hotspots worldwide, much of our knowledge of the whereabouts of plant species in Cape Town is outdated and innaccurate. Species lists for the different reserves and remnants of natural/semi-natural vegetation in the CMA are often based on herbarium records dating back to the 1900's or earlier, and there are many species which supposedly exist in the CMA, that haven't been seen in ages. CASABIO will give a good idea of how many species are actually to be found in these areas (although, of course, some species such as ephemerals, may not be located by CASABIO for many years, even though they do still exist). Because each plant record in the database will be attached to a GPS or grid locality, CASABIO will also provide detailed and accurate information as to where species are currently to be found. This information will be very valuable for professionals wishing to study or conserve these plants. Precise locality information will also be useful in order to track and combat the spread of invasive alien species. Another potentially useful aspect of CASABIO is that it will visually document the level of variability within species, which can provide clues to interesting evolutionary stories. For example, it may be that an unusual flower colour form from a particular part of the city is an indication that a different pollination syndrome is taking place here.

• How will CASABIO stimulate tourism and job creation?

  Biological tourism is big business and the number of people visiting Cape Town specifically in order to witness our amazing floral diversity, increases each year. CASABIO will be a great advert for Cape Town as a destination for plant and nature lovers , as well as a useful resource for tourists during their stay. It is hoped that CASABIO will also encourage Capetonians to pay more visits to our reserves, thereby generating valuable income for conservation. At the same time, the ability for local tour guides to learn more about our plants and to print out or download illustrated species lists for specified areas from CASABIO, will be extremely valuable.

• How will CASABIO collect information and photos?

  As the name implies, CASABIO is a collaboration, so we hope to receive a lot of our photos and information from the public. As an organization, we will also undertake regular collecting trips to different parts of the CMA and encourage enthusiasts and interested parties to join us. CASABIO trips will employ digital cameras with good macro lenses to take high-quality photographs which clearly show the most important defining characteristics of each species. Each photograph will be linked to an accurate GPS reading, which will pinpoint the plant population to within 6m of accuracy. In addition, relevant plant and habitat descriptions will be captured using standardized collecting forms. For each plant species in our database, we will try to have at least one collection/photograph, where the species name has been fully verified. In order to do this, we will need to collect a voucher specimen (which will be stored in the Bolus Herbarium) for each species the first time it is collected. We will not require vouchers for subsequent collections or submissions by the public.

• How can I contribute?

  We need your eyes! We know that there are many keen hikers and plant enthusiasts in CT, so the next time you see something interesting flowering on a mountain, in a nature reserve or in your area, photograph it, GPS it and note the date (very important) and as much plant/habitat info as you are able to give (a standardized collecting form will be available on our website). On the CASABIO website, you will be able to upload your photos directly into our database. Alternatively, you could write your photos onto a CD/ DVD and send them to us or email them to us as an attachment. We will require the photos to be of a decent quality and resolution and will prefer it if you can submit several photos of each plant showing the main features; leaves, flower, fruit, whole plant habit etc (see guidelines/example). Remember: We are not only interested in big showy plants with colourful flowers, so if you see anything unusual, send it to us! We are also aware that many enthusiasts have large collections of plant photos which they have taken over the years. We would be thrilled to receive these, as they could give invaluable information about ephemeral species (e.g. species that only appear for a short while after fire). As mentioned above, you will also be welcome to join us on CASABIO collecting trips, where you can gain valuable field experience in the art of plant hunting!

• What if I don't have a GPS/ digital camera?

  While we will prefer you to own a digital camera and GPS, don't despair if you don't have the use of these tools. Good quality slides or prints can be scanned into digital format using a flatbed scanner (available at most copy shops). In order for you to provide useful locality information without the use of a GPS, we will provide you with a map of the CMA overlaid with a fine scale grid. Simply estimate which grid you photographed the species in and we will translate this into an XY co-ordinate.

• Will other people be able to use my photos?

  When you submit your photos to CASABIO we will allow you to specify what type of control you want over them. As a default, photos will be made freely available for non-commercial use, provided that the photographer is clearly acknowledged. Should a business wish to use your photo for commercial purposes, they will be required to contact the photographer for permission.

• What if I have no experience of identifying plants?

  No problem. Obviously, it will save us time if you identify the plant as far as possible before submitting your photo (e.g. to family, genus or species level), but if you are unsure, you needn't worry. The structure of our database will allow the CASABIO staff or other knowledgeable contributors to identify the plant further and place it in the correct species, if this is possible based on photographic evidence.

• Does CASABIO only deal with indigenous species?

  No. In addition to native species, CASABIO will document all self-established (i.e. not planted) non-native species that occur in natural vegetation in significant numbers. This includes invasives, cosmopolitan weeds and common garden escapees.

• How will CASABIO prevent unscrupulous collectors from obtaining locality information?

  We are well aware of the danger involved in making plant distribution details available to the general public. We will ensure that our database is secure and, in the case of rare or endangered species (even in a local context), only vague distribution information will be made available on the CASABIO website.

• How will the project be funded?

  CASABIO is an NGO which was set up in order to foster conservation, research and appreciation of South Africa's flora (see the CASABIO constitution and other legal documents). CASABIO is a voluntary association and we thus seek funding in order to keep the project running. We welcome all donations from interested organizations/parties, both monetary or otherwise (see our funding information). We also expect that the CASABIO site will catch a lot of attention, and allow us to generate a level of income from advertising. Other potential avenues of income include photo sales for commercial use and the sale of species lists for commercial use (e.g. by EIA companies or tour companies). Any funds raised from advertising or other income streams will be re-invested in the project.