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Published

useful plant

vr.tr.useful-plant · thing-q11992872

Let an agent handle useful plants by species, uses, parts used, safety and sustainability, with accurate identification.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.LIV

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Identity Which plant.

Species

Name.

Species

Species.

  1. Which species is it? definition
  2. Are there dangerous look-alikes? boundary

Parts used

Leaf, root, seed.

Parts

Parts used.

  1. Which parts are used? definition
  2. Are other parts toxic? boundary
Uses What it is used for.

Application

Food, medicine, fibre.

Uses

Uses.

  1. How is it used? definition
  2. What evidence supports medicinal claims? provenance

Traditional knowledge

Communities.

Traditional

Traditional uses.

  1. Which communities use it traditionally? provenance
  2. Has consent been given to document or use this knowledge? boundary
Safety Toxicity and interactions.

Toxicity

Poisoning.

Toxicity

Toxicity.

  1. Is it toxic in any form or dose? boundary
  2. Who should avoid it? boundary

Interactions

With medicines.

Interactions

Drug interactions.

  1. Does it interact with medicines? boundary
  2. When should a pharmacist be asked? action
Sustainability Harvest and trade.

Harvest

Wild collection.

Harvest

Harvest practice.

  1. Is wild harvest sustainable? boundary
  2. Is it protected? boundary

Trade

Legal trade.

Trade

Trade rules.

  1. Is trade in it regulated? provenance
  2. Are benefits shared with source communities? boundary

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.LIV
Other names and narrower kinds
food plant, Melientha suavis, Glochidion rubrum, Hymenodictyon orixense, Polyscias cumingiana, Lactuca sativa var. capitata, Pistacia lentiscus var. chia, Didymocheton fraserianus, Limonium tetragonum, Sansevieria canaliculata, Premna tomentosa, Furcraea hexapetala

What it is Filled

A plant that people use for food, medicine, fibre, fuel, building material, dye or other purposes, whether cultivated or gathered from the wild.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent handle useful plants by species, uses, parts used, safety and sustainability, with accurate identification.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Defined by human use
  • Cultivated or wild-gathered
  • Uses documented by communities and science
  • Safety depends on correct identification

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Recommend plants as medicine without evidence or in place of treatment.
  • Encourage overharvesting of wild plants.
  • Misappropriate traditional knowledge without credit or consent.
  • Declare a wild plant safe to eat from identification alone.

Only with a human decision

  • Commercial use of traditional plant knowledge.

May

  • Describe uses of plants from reliable sources, noting safety.
  • Record where useful plants are cultivated or gathered.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Indigenous peoples hold knowledge of useful plants that is often exploited.
  • Wild harvesting can drive species to extinction.

Who is affected

  • Indigenous and local communities
  • Users
  • Wild plant populations

Owners Filled

Steward

The landowner or community that grows or gathers it.

Master systems

  • Plant genetic resources databases

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q756 - registry parent class

related

  • plant - category by use
  • food and medicine - uses
  • agriculture - cultivation
  • Nagoya Protocol - traditional knowledge

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.useful-plant
  • Wikidata: Q11992872 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11992872)
  • scientific name: binomial species
  • GRIN taxonomy id: numeric useful plants

Direct properties required Filled

  • Plant height: metres - Height is measured from the plant's base to its highest point and varies with species, growth stage and growing conditions.
  • Harvested dry mass: kilograms - Dry mass is measured by weighing a defined harvested portion after drying under stated conditions.
  • Moisture content: percent - Moisture content is determined from water loss during a specified drying method with the wet or dry mass basis stated.

Recognition required Filled

  • Species identification
  • Uses recorded in ethnobotany and crop databases
  • Look-alikes can be dangerous
  • Any plant with human uses, from lettuce to medicinal shrubs.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • cultivate or gather it
  • process it into products
  • document traditional uses
  • harvest sustainably

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Poisoning from misidentification
  • Unsupported medicinal claims
  • Overharvesting wild plants
  • Biopiracy

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing
  • Herbal medicine regulation
  • CITES for traded plants

Context of use required Filled

  • Providing people with food, medicine and materials.
  • food plants
  • medicinal plants
  • fibre plants
  • fuel and timber plants
  • dye and ornamental plants

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q11992872: useful plant - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Useful plants - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should use categories be separate entries?
  • How should traditional knowledge be credited?
  • How should medicinal claims be graded?

Machine files

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q11992872/spec.json