RhODIES: New Plant Genealogy Research System

RhODIES: New Plant Genealogy Research System

Wednesday, October 18, 7:30 pm at Waltham Field Station

Home gardeners and nursery and landscape professionals are invited to
preview the latest tool for rhododendron research at the American
Rhododendron Society Massachusetts Chapter meeting on Wednesday,
October 18, 7:30 pm at the UMass Eastern Extension Center (Waltham
Field Station), 240 Beaver St. Waltham, Mass. The Rhododendron On-line
Display and Information Exchange System (RhODIES), a web-based,
visually-oriented research system that traces the genealogical history
of plant species and hybrids, will be demonstrated at the meeting,
which is free and open to the public.

The RhODIES database brings together a wealth of rhododendron
information resources in an easily accessible electronic format. So
far, more than 1,000 species and more than 400 species cultivars have
been entered along with taxonomical information.

RhODIES displays and prints a hybrid's genealogy in a family tree
format. Flower colors are cross-referenced among several industry
color standards including the Royal Horticultural Society, National
Bureau of Standards and the traditional Ridgeway horticultural color
systems. Each entry will have six photographs for study: plant, truss,
flower, leaves, stem, and new growth. Users will be able to make
comments on plants but will not be able to change scientific data.

RhODIES will help breeders determine what species or cultivars might
make the best parents to generate plants with certain traits. It will
help landscapers determine how to select for hardiness, color, and
bloom period and will be a source of professional plant photographs
for reference.

Ted Petit, the chapter's corresponding secretary, started the RhODIES
system to help fellow enthusiasts visualize hybrid rhododendron
genealogy. Petit has been asked to join the ARS national rhododendron
database committee, which has been charged with developing a research
system for ARS members. The national system will incorporate a
database of over 30,000 hybrids maintained by Bob and Jay Murray of
the New Jersey chapter.

"The flexibility of the RhODIES system, which will be useful to
everyone from the amateur home gardener to the most sophisticated
botanist or breeder, makes its long range potential so exciting," said
Susan Harding, co-president of the ARS Massachusetts Chapter.

Petit, a Bellingham, Mass. resident, is an avid rhododendron
enthusiast and president of his own software development and sales
consulting company, AppliTech, Inc. Ted has 35 years experience in the
computer, military electronics and industrial automation industries..

The American Rhododendron Society is a non-profit organization whose
purpose is to encourage interest in and to disseminate information
about the genus Rhododendron. Society activities include public
education, flower shows, seed exchanges, scientific studies, and
communication through publications and local and national meetings.
ARS chapters are located throughout the United States and Canada and
in Denmark, Holland, Scotland, Sweden and Sikkim.

For information on the ARS Massachusetts Chapter, visit www.rosebay.org.