I love the idea of this. I have a casual interest in gardening and often come across plants I'd love to know the name of.
I hope you go on to great success. Finding niches like this to run a start-up is awesome.
In response to the other comments, perhaps you can make the botanists a 'knowledge marketplace' whereby they are paid (a micropayment of sorts) for sitting through and identifying flowers from pictures. You can set localisation filters so that avid gardeners can get involved too.
As a people that does exactly that since a lot of years just for fun, to be paid for continue identifying plants of the world will be a interesting change, but be aware that they will need to compete with unpaid positions right now. Their main problem will be to make people want to pay for something that they have for free (in an amateur base). Helpmefind for example is still trying to make money with this type of business.
I agree, its hard to monetise something which people do for free and for fun however as someone who considers themselves to be a casual gardener, just remember the audience you are trying to reach is not the hobbyist... its the mainstream masses.
I'm sure some VCs will love this idea. Find the right ones that don't push you to monetise right away. Focus on user acquisition, then monetisation will come later.
I hope you go on to great success. Finding niches like this to run a start-up is awesome.
In response to the other comments, perhaps you can make the botanists a 'knowledge marketplace' whereby they are paid (a micropayment of sorts) for sitting through and identifying flowers from pictures. You can set localisation filters so that avid gardeners can get involved too.