This site is part of the larger California Academy of Science site and contains taxonomic information from the herbarium of the California Academy of Science (CAS) and the Dudley Herbarium of Stanford University (DS). The site allows the user to search their catalog of botanical type specimens, search the catalog for accessions from Chiapas, Mexico, view pictures of wildflowers of California, view a revision of Spathacanthus or access vouchers for the Halesia study. Each of the sites is equipped with a search engine and provides well-organized and formatted taxonomic information. A limited amount of information is provided about biomes in California that may provide users with basic information about botanical habitats.
Type of Material:
Collection
Technical Requirements:
Web Browser
Target Student Population:
General Public, High School, all College levels
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Quality of Content: (4.75) (4.70) = 4.7
Clearly laid out
Excellent source of taxonomic information
Very nice photographs
Engaging presentation of materials
Concerns:
Needs to provide links between geographical regions and the California wildflowers
Needs to provide taxonomic information that could be used to key out California wildflowers to the family or species level
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool: (4.25) (4.30) = 4.3
Good combination of taxonomic and general botanical information
Flexibility of use
Good use of common and scientific names and colors for showing relationship
Could be used to create assignments for both botany and systematics courses
Concerns:
This site provides good taxonomic and general information, but is more focused on wildflowers than other aspects of taxonomy. It would be useful to have pictures of herbarium specimens to provide the user with some idea of what is found in the collections.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Usability: (4.25) (4.40) = 4.3
Very easy to navigate
Fast
Well written
Good integration of color-coding and other indexes
Concerns:
Technical problems: The links on the left hand side menu of the California wildflowers do not always load.
Creative Commons:
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