Illinois Botanists Big Year Update 7/28/2018
And @elfaulkner takes the lead!
Current Illinois Botanists Big Year Stats:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/illinois-botanists-big-year-2018 (help identify)
21,614 observations
1,198 species
1,218 observers
618 identifiers
Below again are links to what we as a group have found in 2018 so far compared to what has been documented on iNaturalist before 2018. The lists in the links below will update automatically as people continue adding observations throughout the year. iNaturalist's compare tool limits us to check 500 taxa at a time, so these are broken into several chunks.
▶Non-flowering plants
We need to document some feral red pines (Pinus resinosa), still need that purple-stem cliffbrake (Pellaea atropurpurea), Marchania polymorpha, Woodsia obtusa, Polytrichum juniperinum, Huperzia lucidula...
▶Monocots excluding Poales
Get ready for Spiranthes...missing a few southern Illinois species that we've found before, and several aquatic plants yet missing.
▶Poales (grasses, sedges, rushes, & friends)
Still need to document or confirm Cyperus strigosus, Microstegium vimineum, Bromus pubescens, Carex scoparia, Carex meadii, Festuca subverticillata...
▶Plants in Asterales (sunflower family and friends)
Not a single new Asterales member added this year yet! Kind of amazing.
▶Plants in Fabales (pea family and friends)
A couple new IL iNat firsts were Trifolium arvense (@skrentnyjeff) and Trifolium aureum (@sedge). Missing a few Lespedeza spp., Lathyrus venosus, Lathryus japonicus, Viccia cracca
▶Plants in Lamiales (mint family and friends)
A new on iNat for Illinois species was @johnhboldt's observation of ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) in downtown Galena. Not sure if it was planted there, but it seems to spread around a bit too. Most of those previous Mentha arvensis observations probably are Mentha canadensis.
▶Plants in Rosales (rose family and friends)
▶Plants in Brassicales (mustard family and friends)
▶Plants in Ranunculales (buttercup family and friends)
▶Plants in Caryophyllales (pink family and friends)
▶All other (eu)dicots except the groups above
Quite a few new documentations, check em out.
See what species you haven't observed yet in Illinois with the following link. Just change it from my username (bouteloua) to yours:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?hrank=species&place_id=35&taxon_id=47125&unobserved_by_user_id=bouteloua&view=species
And check out other concurrent regional Botanists Big Year projects:
Michigan Botanists Big Year 2018
Ontario Botanists Big Year 2018
(do note that they all have slightly different rules, so the stats aren't really comparable)
-cassi
