Great idea, poor execution

This is one of the best apps in terms of simplicity and ease of use, but there are some fundamental problems for tree experts and enthusiasts alike (point #2 below).

#1 "The good" - It has an interesting and fairly effective dichotomous key with a shaded map to direct you in one of two streams then it switches to the more familiar and traditional key. All in all a good implementation. Second, it has a neat way to tag trees you have IDd to view later on a map, and if you choose you can contribute to arbor days "tree census" which is essentially a nationwide crowdsourced tree database. Finally, some basic tree anatomy nomenclature is provided to teach the novice and remind the seasoned alike.

#2 "The Bad" - Where this app really fails is in searching the hundreds of trees in its data base. While it has botanical names, it does not search them. Imagine you type "Manitoba Maple" as opposed to Boxelder both common names for Acer negundo, if you are unaware of Boxelder as another name for "Manitoba Maple" (common name in Canada) then best of luck finding it because using the botanical name will not yield any results. You will have to scroll around to find it. While I cannot speak for everyone I can say it is problematic to use common names that vary by region and/or culture ie: if you are British and living in North America your "Lime Tree" is our "Basswood" etc etc.

I would gladly come back and chnge my rating of this app should the developers adjust the search base. Anyone who owns a tree or shrub book as a reference guide knows those resources aptly provide indexes to look up plants in both botanical and common names. Esp. Botanical.

mugg5y about Arbor Day Tree Identification Guide: What Tree ..., v20131111