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IrisBG

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Photo: Mari G. Rustan

Product

One system for the whole collection

IrisBG brings accessions, taxonomy, mapping, labels, reports and public publishing into one database, installed on your servers or hosted on ours, and run daily across 1000+ collections worldwide — gardens, arboreta, herbaria and estates.

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Key features

  • A professional database solution

    IrisBG is a modern and efficient software and database solution used by botanical gardens, arboreta and private estates around the world.

  • A scalable and flexible system built for teams

    IrisBG is a simple solution designed to scale up to become more comprehensive as your team and collection grow.

  • Security and peace of mind

    IrisBG maintains the technology with software updates, database backups, and security protocols so you can focus on botanical work.

  • Built for collaboration and interpretation

    Easily create labels and signage for interpretation, share reports, and publish up-to-date information to a Garden Explorer website

Modules

Standard modules, plus what you choose to add

IrisBG comes with a comprehensive set of standard modules. In addition, a set of optional modules is available, so you can tailor the configuration to meet your requirements and your budget.

Included as standard

Standard Package
Accessions, taxa, taxonomic hierarchy, images, reports, labels, tasks and user authorization: a comprehensive set of functionality and collection data.
Preserved Material
Record other material types than the living plant collection, such as herbarium specimens, seeds and DNA material. Included at no additional cost since spring 2022.
Observations
Designed with plant phenology in mind, and usable for other kinds of observations in a collection including pests and disease scouting.
IrisBG Lite
Coming soon: a companion app for phones and tablets that lets you map and update plants standing in front of them, offline when there is no signal. Included at no extra cost.

See the full specification of every module →

Optional modules

Mapping
Display maps and update map coordinates for plants, garden locations, features and accession localities.
Garden Explorer
Share your plant collection with the public through maps, features, tours and searchable plant lists.
Store Management
Prepare catalogues to offer your plant material, for example an Index Seminum, to other gardens.
Index Seminum
Publish your store catalogues on the web and receive orders directly.
Data Import
Import data directly from XLSX (Excel) and CSV files, with the same input validation as manual entry.
Multilingual Data
Enter data in different languages in dedicated fields, fully supported for reports, labels and the Garden Explorer.

Each optional module is priced separately in the price calculator.

IrisBG at a glance

1000+

Collections

30

Years in service

60-day

Free trial

How it runs

Three pieces, configured to your institution

IrisBG can be installed on a standalone PC or in a multi-user environment, and you decide whether the database and the public website live on your servers or ours.

  • Desktop application

    IrisBG runs on all recent versions of Windows, on a standalone PC or in a multi-user environment. It can also be used on Citrix.

  • Your database, your choice

    The database can be hosted on a Microsoft SQL Server in your local network, or on our cloud database service with all database management taken care of.

  • Optional web solutions

    The Garden Explorer and Index Seminum run on a web server. Data is uploaded from IrisBG to that server, and for security reasons there is no connection back to your IrisBG database.

The detailed requirements (Windows versions, memory and disk, Microsoft SQL Server editions, map providers and web server) are on the system requirements page.

Explore

Take a closer look

  • Features

    The full module list: accessions, taxonomy, reports, labels, preserved material and observations, module by module.

  • Mapping

    Display maps and update coordinates for plants, garden locations, features and localities, with several internet map options.

  • Garden Explorer

    Share your plant collection with the public through maps, features, tours and searchable plant lists.

  • Index Seminum

    Prepare and publish seed and plant-material catalogues, then handle the orders that come back.

  • IrisBG Lite Soon

    Map and update plants standing in front of them, on any phone or tablet, still working when the signal runs out.

  • Integrations

    ArcGIS field data collection, BGCI and Darwin Core exports, and PGSIP exports.

  • Switching to IrisBG

    A data migration carried out by an experienced botanist, with data cleaning included in the service.

Current release

The latest version of IrisBG is 4.7.1.26031, released on 5 March 2026. New versions must be installed on all computers you use for IrisBG, and support and software updates are included in the annual fee.

Downloads & version history → What's new → Pricing →

See IrisBG on your own collection

Try the full system free for 60 days, or book a demo and we'll walk through the modules your garden actually needs.

Start free trial Book a demo