4/15/20 Project Update
Though we’re socially distant, I hope you’re well. I’ve received a few personal emails about the weeds (or lack thereof!) that you’re finding on your hikes, and it’s great to hear about what’s out there. We appreciate all of your efforts, and please continue to stay safe and maintain 6 feet of space between yourself and others while getting your fresh air.
In case you’re hungering for good news, I have some to share. First - you’re doing incredible work! Our project hit a major milestone on Monday, as we have now collectively recorded over 1000 observations in iNaturalist. For Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, our observations make up and impressive 42% of Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) records, and nearly 80% of the Ageratina adenophora (sticky snakeroot) records on iNaturalist. Way to go! These data help us understand how widespread invasive species are and can inform where we prioritize weed control and native revegetation efforts in the future.
A friendly reminder that it’s very helpful to have multiple, close-up and in-focus photos of multiple plant parts when adding observations to iNaturalist! For most plants (especially those you don’t know the ID of), it’s generally useful to include photos of the flower (when possible; from multiple angles, including from the side and underneath), both the tops and bottoms of leaves, and a further back photo of the entire plant in context. And if you want to flex your botany muscles to try to ID things yourself, you can check out the Jepson eFlora, which includes a handy glossary to help you with the difference between botanical terms - like tomentose and puberulent!
You’ve also been doing good work collecting data on erosion along trails in AnecData. Be careful and safe in your surveys, and keep that data coming! Check out these observations collected recently:
In my own surveys over the last few weeks, I’ve found some rare lilies to make up for the piles of weeds I encountered, and wanted to share some of these beauties with you. In wet places, there have been Humboldt’s lilies, ready to make spectacular displays later in the season; I’ve also spotted Fritillaria ojaiensis with the help of volunteers who’ve kindly sent me coordinates for the populations they’ve found. And finally - for those of you who attended a field training at Cozy Dell – it’s worth the trip to the top once again if you’re interested in seeing some Calochortus catalinae, another lovely rare lily! If you’re interested in mapping rare plants but haven’t gotten an email with the list and plant guide, feel free to email me and I’ll send it your way. Other resources can still be found on the SBBG website.
And finally, as the season progresses, some new weeds are also becoming more apparent. I’ve seen some Maltese star thistle (Centaurea melitensis) starting to produce flowers – they’re still small, but developing. Centaurea melitensis is easy to confuse with Centurea solstitialis (Yellow star thistle), but an easy way to tell them apart is the color of the spines and how robust the spines are, in case you run into these:
I think that wraps it up for this update - until next time, stay healthy, and stay safe!
- Josie
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