Enter a new dimension in plant technology...

As if splitting genes, altering plant DNA and modifying plant structures weren't enough, the horticulture industry seems poised to take another leap forward - or is that backwards? Hard to know these days. We'll go with the assumption that 'new' is good.

Jane Berger from GardenDesignOnline identifies what the future for plants may hold.

The technology that's pioneering the paradigm shift comes via The Consortium for the Barcode of Life(pdf) who have as their mandate the desire to categorize every living thing.

The idea is that possibly, in the future, plants might be barcoded allowing anyone to correctly reference what plant it is.

My only query with where this is going is what part of the plant will be barcoded? If it's the leaves, what happens if the one that drops off is the barcoded one? Or, if all leaves are barcoded, what would occur if new ones grew without barcoding? And, if it were to be placed on the trunk, what happens to the barcode as the tree expands?

Interesting idea. While it may be helpful, I'm really keen to see how this would become a workable solution for identifying plants.