App Helps Track University’s Plant Life

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — A University of Louisiana-Lafayette professor has developed an app that helps people identify the diverse plant life as they walk through the campus.

The Advocate reports Arborgraphia is the brainchild of Douglas Williams, a professor of instructional technology and director of the University's Center for Innovative Learning and Assessment Technologies.

The smartphone app offers an interactive map that allows users to identify trees and study the science and history of each plant, such as how a particular group of people, like early Cajuns settling in the area, might have used the leaves or the bark of the tree.

The app also provides specifics, like the plant's scientific name, special name and leaf type.

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