Well I hadn't realized that basjoo was NOT native to Japan. I was only curious as to the common name that culture uses for the plant. Courtesy of AnotherAlterEgo over at the citrus forum who sent me to the link (I was looking for another name as well) I found that the common Japanese name is BASHOU or even in Japanese: Here is a link that might be useful: MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE

If the plant you are looking for is any kind of food plant or other useful plant, you could try the "Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database", at http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/List_bot.html It gives Chinese names in both Chinese characters and what I assume is Pinyin, also Cantonese names where applicable. For example, asparagus bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) is given as "Dou jiao", or as "Ch'eung ts'ing tau kok" in Cantonese. For searching a name it uses Google, narrowed to the site. If searching on a plant name of 2 or more words you should put it in double quotes.

Hi Gene, I thought I had lost it in a harddrive crash last year, but I found a copy I had made of it on a CD. I haven't invested too much time into it since then. I did some updating this weekend. It is going to require a lot more work (as well as buying a server version) to make it usable for multiple users online. Fortunately, I have been told we are hiring a dedicated database developer at work since the the time I have to devote to them has shrunk greatly. I can probably touch on whoever I hire for advice. Currently, I have the following tables: Cultivar: with the ability to contain information about origins, synonyms, breba and main crops (color, neck, stem, eye, etc.), and leaf style and shape. It also has a place for a brief description (although I haven't decided on a set format) and a notes area (similar to the information provided on Jon's site. It will be populated by users notes on a specific variety. It also has information about nurseries which carry the variety, as well as users who have the variety in their collection. UC Davis inventory: It contains the GRIN#, a link to the specific variety on the UCD site, and the availability. User wish list: This is also visible on the cultivar page as well as the UCD page. Personal inventory: This is also linked to a print format to tree labels. I am working on adding more information to the persona inventories so that timing (dormancy, leafing, fruiting, etc) information can be stored from year to year and from zone to zone and can be compared to the varieties description. I have a few other ideas to toy with and am open to other suggestions as well. Plus, I have to make it pretty as well ;) If anyone is using Filemaker (either PC or Mac) I can send a blank copy of the database for review. In the mean time I'll work on the outputs so I can send previews in PDF format. Also, Gene, you had a post which led to a PDF file of fig identifiers. I lost the PDF file in the crash and was unsuccessful in finding it again when I looked. Do you still have the link? ~james

Hi Ingevald, very nice reading, I read in great depth. I particularly enjoyed masseriaficazzana. It was very familiar to me, not only the figs, but the wonderful other fruits I haven't had in a while. Thanks again, I enjoyed it greatly. Ciao