Chile’s geography has resulted in it having a comparatively high amount of endemic plant species. The geographic isolation created by the Andes mountain range on one side, the Pacific Ocean on the other, and the Atacama desert in the North, has boosted the rate that species formed and resulted in a very unique ecology.

The Endemic Plants of Chile website was devised to document these endemic plant species and to help users explore the data for conservation, scientific or other uses. This site was devised in both Spanish and English with contributions from Chilean and Scottish plant experts and developed and refined over a number of years.

As the wealth of information and imagery of these beautiful plants built-up, we devised innovative ways to help explore the data. For example, a full, faceted search system was developed which allows additional interaction with a map of Chile to help filter the data.

To illustrate some of the statistical data, we programmed rich graphical data visualisations to, for example, see how endemic plant families relate to each other. An interactive story to explain Chile’s unique biogeography was also built with mapping, animation and text to bring the story to life.

The site can be seen at chileanendemics.rbge.org.uk