Correcting Plant Name Italicization in a Web App

Description and use

PlantGeekz fixed incorrect plant name formatting by implementing the botanical‑name parser, which correctly italicizes genus, species, and infraspecific epithets while rendering cultivar names in Roman type. This improved display accuracy and compliance with botanical conventions.

Problem

Plant names were being displayed with incorrect typography, violating botanical naming conventions and confusing users.

Outcome

The plant names are now displayed with correct typography, improving user trust and compliance with botanical standards. The parser handles diverse input formats, flags problematic data, and maintains consistency across PHP and JavaScript implementations.

Workflow

• 1. Identify formatting rules for botanical names (italic vs. Roman).
• 2. Collect real-world name variations from spreadsheets, catalogs, and user input.
• 3. Write parsing rules and hand‑made test cases covering expected parts.
• 4. Implement parser in PHP and JavaScript/TypeScript, ensuring identical output.
• 5. Run both implementations over 30,569 real names to validate correctness.
• 6. Add guards: shared fixtures, line‑by‑line port, differential testing.
• 7. Integrate parser into the web app to format names on display.
• 8. Expose CLI/Composer and npm packages for external use.
• 9. Monitor for new name variations via issue tracking and update fixtures.

Evidence

We wrote the rules first and a set of hand‑made test cases second. Everything passed. Then we ran both implementations over 30,569 real names from the PlantGeekz taxonomy…

Source

parse() gives you the parts – genus, epithet, authors, infraspecific ranks, group, trade designation, cultivar – and a list of warnings…

Source