DIRECTIONS

How to collect and submit leaves to the research project: Jewelweed leaf traits

A few notes:

Our goal is to analyze common and pale jewelweed leaves from across the range of these species to identify leaf traits that can be used to distinguish these two species.

We estimate your participation will take about 15 minutes once you have located a jewelweed plant that you have permission to collect a leaf from.

This project should have minimal impacts on these plants and the surrounding environment; removing a single leaf from these plants will not harm the overall plant (and neither species is endangered).

These instructions are written for use with a smartphone, however a home computer and digital camera could be substituted (to photograph the plant, find it’s approximate latitude and longitude, and upload the record to iNaturalist).

If you collect a leaf from more than one plant, please keep each leaf inside a separate greeting card or cardboard sandwich - labeled with the unique leaf ID. We also highly recommend collecting one leaf and uploading the associated photo/s to iNaturalist before collecting the next leaf to avoid mix-ups.

Other links:
About the Research Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Project Home Page

Materials:

• Jewelweed plant/s that you have permission to collect a leaf from
• Smartphone
• iNaturalist app and user account (free)
• Envelope and greeting card or (similar weight cardstock or thin cardboard)
• Pen or marker to write with

Join our iNaturalist project: (only need to do this once)

1. Install the iNaturalist app. Log in (or make an account if you don't have one yet) .
2. “Community” menu (on the bottom) → “Projects” → green magnifying glass
3. Enter “jewelweed leaf traits” in the search bar.
4. Click on the project and click “Join”. Now you are officially part of our project. Welcome!

Collect and press a leaf:

1. Locate a common jewelweed or pale jewelweed plant that has flowers in bloom. We will use your photograph of the flowers to confirm the species. Make sure you have permission to collect a leaf from this plant. For example, many natural areas do not allow any plant material to be removed/collected without expressed permission. We are relying on you to follow all rules for nature preserves, private property, etc.
2. Carefully collect the upper-most, fully opened, mature leaf on the plant that is attached to the main stem. Holes in the middle of the leaf are okay, but the leaf margin (aka edge) must be undamaged.

3. Place the leaf flat inside a greeting card or between two recycled pieces of thin cardboard (e.g. from a cereal box). Impatiens leaves wilt extremely quickly so it is best to press the leaf between cardboard right after you pick it. We will not be able to use folded or torn leaves. When you get home, put the greeting card or cardboard sandwich under a heavy book for 1-3 days to help the leaf stay flat while it dries.

Upload associated photos and data to iNaturalist:

Note - Reading this entire section first and then staying in the iNat. app. while you upload the observation helps avoid crashes.

1. Log into the iNaturalist app on your smartphone.

2. Upload an observation to iNaturalist.
   “Observe” menu (on bottom) → “Camera” icon → take a photo → “Use photo”.
   The photo should be of the plant that you collected the leaf from and must include at least one open flower.
   (You can take and upload multiple photos per plant if you like by clicking the box with the + in it on the following page).

3. Enter either “common jewelweed” or “pale jewelweed” using your best guess in the “What did you see?” field.
4. Check that the date, time, and location (including latitude/longitude) autofilled. If they are empty, type them in manually.

5. Add the observation to our project.
   “Projects” → toggle slider next to “Jewelweed leaf traits”

6. Fill in the Unique Leaf ID using this format:

   YYYYMMDD.username.01

   This ID corresponds to: year, month, date, your iNaturalist username, and an integer that starts at 01. If you collect more than one leaf on the same day, use .02, .03, etc. in the unique ID for subsequent leaves. (You do not need to note the species in the ID; we will get this from the iNaturalist record itself).

7. IMPORTANT - Write the Unique Leaf ID on the cardboard that the leaf is inside. We will use this unique ID to match the physical leaves we receive in the mail to the iNaturalist observation.
8. Confirm that the Unique Leaf ID is written on the cardboard that the leaf is inside by selecting “yes” for this field.
9. (Optional) - Enter the plant height and/or the approximate number of individuals (of the species you collected from) in the area if you would like (no pressure).
10. Click the green back arrow and then "Share" or the green checkmark (depending on version) to confirm and submit your observation. You will see your images being loaded and then will be brought back to your Observations page when the submission is complete.

Mailing leaves:

1. Check that the leaf is flat and dried - the leaf should stay flat when you open the greeting card or cardboard.

2. Place the greeting card or cardboard (with leaf inside) into an envelope. If you collected multiple leaves that you are mailing together, please secure each leaf inside its greeting card (or cardboard sandwich) by taping the edges closed with masking tape - to ensure each leave stays inside its labeled card during transit. Put appropriate postage on the envelope and mail to:

   Dept. of Botany, Michelle Kenton
   123 Birge Hall
   430 Lincoln Dr.
   Madison, WI 53706

3. Spread the word about our project if you are willing and able.
4. Reward yourself for participating in citizen science!

Posted on July 16, 2021 07:58 PM by toczydlowski