New Zealand Lycopodiaceae guide - a prototype for a guide to ferns?
I’ve put together a guide to Aotearoa’s 12 species of Lycopodiaceae. This complements and is based on our recently published electronic Flora of New Zealand chapter for this family.
The guide is a prototype, and maybe a bit rough around the edges. But I hope it’ll still be useful. We’ve tried to focus on the distinguishing features in an accessible way (i.e., photos, limited jargon). No matter where you live in New Zealand, you’ll have some of these species near you.
The guide is available for free as a 12 MB pdf from my Google Drive.
Feedback is welcome. For instance:
• Would you like a similar guide for New Zealand's ferns?
• Is the jargon at an okay level?
• Is the pdf file useful (e.g., for printing)? Would you prefer a different format (e.g., webpage)?
• Even if this was available free online (for all of the common ferns and lycophytes), would you buy a professionally-produced book with the same content?
Suggestions for changes welcome.
Note – if you wondering "who/what are the Lycopodiaceae?", the guide answers that!
Comments
fyi @dhutch, @johnb-nz, @david_lyttle, @john_barkla
Kia ora Leon, what an awesome guide! I knew little to nothing about Lycopodiaceae before reading and found the guide very easy to read and informative, love the photos. Can't wait to go exploring and try and identify some. I found the jargon to be at a good level, especially as a novice myself. Would love a similar guide for Ferns. pdf file for printing seems to be handy so one could take it out into the field. Would definitely consider purchasing the book. I would love to see some of the te reo names included, but that would be my only comment.
thanks @rottenrose.
You'll definitely spot waewaekoukou (Lycopodium volubile) around Wellington.
The books I have don't list Te Reo names for most of the individual species - just waewaekoukou and puakarimu with some certainty. But I've found another Te Reo name that I can add in (it seems to apply to two species), and there are Te Reo names for the whole family that I need to add to the second page. Nga mihi, Leon
Hi Leon, Thanks for the great IDing you do including for my Obs. I found this great and would love a guide to NZ ferns. I would particularly like something that does not require a live internet connection. Links from the images at the top of the guide to the appropriate species would be invaluable. Making sure the distinguishing features you list are clearly identifiable in the images is helpful. Having something that can be looked at on a phone or an ipad while outside coverage / wifi in the bush is particularly attractive to me and far more useful than a book. Anyway thanks again and this little guide is great. Cheers Andrew
Thanks @andrewmaungakotukutuku . Those are good suggestions.
Add a Comment