High Country Apps
WILDFLOWERS OF MOUNT EVEREST
A guide to over 550 wildflowers, shrubs, and trees of Sagamartha National Park. Partners: Elizabeth Byers, Flora of Nepal Project, and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal. ($7.99)
Presented by Elizabeth Byers, the Flora of Nepal Project, and Department of National Parks & Wildlife Conservation (Nepal).
Vegetation Ecologist Elizabeth Byers, the Flora of Nepal Project, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (Nepal), and High Country Apps have partnered to produce the new WILDFLOWERS OF MOUNT EVEREST plant identification app for mobile devices. The app presents over 550 wildflowers, shrubs, and trees likely to be seen along the trails in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. More than 2500 beautifully detailed images illustrate the species descriptions, along with bloom period, elevation range, local names, and plant lore. Most of the species can also be seen in the adjacent Makalu-Barun National Park and the upper elevations of the Gauri Shankar Conservation Area, and many are found throughout Nepal at higher elevations. The app does not need an Internet connection to run, so you can use it no matter how remote your wanderings take you.
Though primarily designed for amateur enthusiasts, the breadth of content also includes technical descriptions, scientific name synonymy, and references, making it appealing to more experienced botanists. Users can browse the species list by plant name or plant family to locate a species and access the related information. However, most users will want to rely on the easy-to-use search key to accurately identify plants of interest. Save your favorites to a personalized list and email it to yourself or your friends.
The key's interface is broken down into eleven simple categories: growth form (e.g., wildflower, shrub, vine), flower color, number of petals, flower type, elevation zone, habitat, leaf arrangement, leaf margin, leaf type, plant height, and flowering month. Select choices in as many or as few categories as you wish. As you do so, the number of species found is displayed at the top of the page. Once done selecting, the click of a button returns a list of thumbnail images and names for potential matches. Users scroll among the species on the list and tap a thumbnail image to access additional photos, descriptions, plant facts and lore.
WILDFLOWERS OF MOUNT EVEREST includes supporting documents with information on the natural history of the Mount Everest region, descriptions of wildflower seasons and best times to visit, insights into how the climate influences the plant communities found here, a map of Sagarmatha National Park as well as detailed instructions on how to use the app. Users will also find an extensive glossary of botanical terms, along with labeled diagrams of leaves, flowers, and inflorescences. Finally, detailed descriptions can be found for each family contained in WILDFLOWERS OF MOUNT EVEREST. Tapping on a family name brings up a list of images and names for all species in the app belonging to that family.
Sagarmatha National Park’s vegetation ranges from the temperate oak-hemlock forests at the lowest elevations, up through the fir-birch-rhododendron forests of the subalpine to the dwarf shrublands and meadows of the alpine, and on upward to scattered cushion plants at the highest elevations. WILDFLOWERS OF MOUNT EVEREST will appeal to individuals of all ages who travel to such areas and are interested in knowing the names, natural history, and cultural importance of the plants that they encounter. WILDFLOWERS OF MOUNT EVEREST is also a great educational tool for learning more about plant communities, botanical terms, and how to identify plants in general.
Press Reviews
Bladderwort Botanizing in Nepal
"Our Observation of the Week is this Utricularia kumaonensis bladderwort plant, seen in Nepal by @elizabeth_byers!"
Tony Iwane, iNaturalist Blog, November 23, 2023
Wildflowers of Mount Everest
"Vegetation ecologist Elizabeth Byers has partnered with the Flora of Nepal Project, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal, and High Country Apps to produce Wildflowers of Mount Everest, the first-ever plant identification app for Nepal, with a focus on Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone. This World Heritage Site and Ramsar location is famously dominated by Mount Everest and home to the Sherpa people."
International Union for Conservation of Nature, Mountain Protected Areas Update, by Gillian Anderson, June 2020
Photo Friday: A Digital Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Mount Everest
"Spring has again returned to Nepal. Wildflowers are blooming about the mountains and plains. Rhododendrons and primroses paint the scene with colorful hues of purple, pink, red, and yellow, and soon summertime will bring strange alpine blossoms like the Hippolytia gossypina, with its golden flowers atop white-haired stalks."
Glacier Hub by Audrey Ramming, April 24, 2020
Wildflower App Celebrates Nepal's Flora
The first-ever phone app puts identification of mountain flowers literally in the palm of your hands "Nepal is famous for its spectacular scenery of mountains and plains, rich cultural heritage. But no less wondrous is the beautiful flora that adorns it."
Nepali Times, April 15, 2020
Wildflower App Celebrates Beauty of Sagarmatha National Park
"Wildflowers of Mount Everest is the first-ever wildflower identification app for Nepal. The app virtually transports travelers to the world’s highest peak and showcases its remarkable native flora through beautifully detailed images and easy-to-use graphical keys." read more...
Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) - April 9, 2020
First-ever wildflower identification app launched for Nepal
"Dreaming of your next trip to Nepal? Or going through photos and memories from your last trip? High Country Apps announced a new app, called "Wildflowers of Mount Everest", the first-ever wildflower identification app for Nepal. The app virtually transports travelers to the world's highest peak and showcases its remarkable native flora through beautifully detailed images and easy-to-use graphical keys."
Mountain Partnership, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - April 4, 2020
Wildflowers of Mount Everest: a plant identification app for Apple and Android devices
"Wildflowers of Mount Everest, a plant identification app designed for iOS and Android devices, provides more than 2500 detailed images, 1000 local names, descriptions, plant facts, and local lore for 557 wildflowers, shrubs, and trees that grow on the slopes and trails of Mount Everest."
ResearchGate Publications - April 2020
Plant life 'expanding over the Himalayas' "Vegetation is expanding at high altitudes in the Himalayas, including in the Everest region, new research has shown. The researchers found plant life in areas where vegetation was not previously known to grow. A team used satellite data from 1993 to 2018 to measure the extent of plant cover between the tree-line and the snow-line."
By Navin Singh Khadka, Environment correspondent, BBC World Service - January 10, 2020
Wildflowers of the Melting Glaciers
"As the planet warms and Himalayan glaciers melt, a small miracle is taking place. On the boulders and rubble that are exposed by melting ice, pioneering wildflowers are colonizing the new land. This is an extreme environment with essentially no soil and with freezing temperatures much of the year."
ECS Nepal, Issue 209 - April, 2019
User Reviews
Get to know the qualities and stories of Nepal's flowers from a new app read more...
Himal Khabar, April 18, 2020
New Plant Identification App for Nepal "RBGE's Flora of Nepal team have partnered with vegetation ecologist Elizabeth Byers, Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and High Country Apps to produce Wildflowers of Mount Everest, the first-ever plant identification mobile app for the country. The app focuses on Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone which is famously dominated by Mount Everest and home to the Sherpa people. Less well-known, but equally spectacular, are its beautiful rhododendron-filled forests and alpine flowers." read more...
Posted by Colin Pendry in Botanics Stories, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - April 9, 2020