Several programs have been written to identify plants but so far the only ones I've seen are for specific locations that don't cover much geography. Someone should be able to write a program that can cover the world. A GPS on the calculator would tell the program which database segment to query. From there the user would key in answers to simple questions until the program was able to identify the plant, including some of its more pertinent characteristics - like whether or not you can eat it. The link provides an example of how this type of program would work.
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Couldn't find a way to add the link so here it is -
http://www.mikebaker.com/key/instructions.html
Google on botany and look around. You might look to the Botanical Society of America for suggested sites. No serious programming is needed. What is needed is a database. And some way to support it financially. Some universities may have the relevant local information in a web page. And the geo-coordinates could be used to find nearby universities.
It's true the programming is easy and finding a database not much harder. I was hoping someone who works for an outdoor camping equipment manufacturer, or a wealthy survivalist, would see the idea here though and turn it into reality. I want to buy one.