March 2021 ILBBY Update
Spring has been harbinged! Erigenia bulbosa, the harbinger of spring, observed by @abelkinser in Jackson County on February 24th.
2021 Illinois Botany on iNat
290 observers
4,110 Needs ID or Research Grade observations (2,360 or 57% Research Grade)
688 species (500 at Research Grade)
232 identifiers
Leading for number of species in the Illinois Botanists Big Year (ILBBY) is @grantfessler - who swapped for 1st place with @adriansydor since our last update, then @wildlandblogger, @abelkinser, @brdnrdr, @sedge, @joelmc, @rarecatsnake, @ungulateunion, and @jfaupel.
Grazie mille to @rynxs @wildlandblogger @sedge @grantfessler @rarecatsnake @abelkinser @cosmiccat @polemoniaceae @joedziewa @brdnrdr @greensnake879 @alex_abair @elizabeth1067 @williambee @lysandra @dziomber @tkoffel @tanyuu @matthias55 who all made more than 50 IDs in February on Illinois plant observations. I know many of you have been going through backlog, not just 2021 observations, which is a huge help.
Welcome!
New to the ILBBY project in 2021 are @beewilliams @peterjgoodspeed @champaignforests @hao103 @kyle466 @njfloot @henrychandler @andrew1071 @dcoldren @dwayn19 @hcurtis3286 @jhlsacco @emilymetzger @chrisnowa @lindemanzachary. New to iNaturalist in the past few weeks are @amywright @andrew_griffith @annabelle_fitzpatrick @bahiyyah_muhammad @ben_johnson1 @brian_carlson @briana_zanayed @danielmorton @dmdover @flwrecoevo @haileyeverhart @hesspaige @j_p3 @jdoych @jholmes88 @joseph_bright1 @justin851 @kstahlheber @lisa_vanderbleek @lj_lamera @lucasbalon @mbayert @mdelira1 @micah_wheeler @omkar_betsur @prairiebeeman @rburger @ritaf61 @rlmaniskas @sbs5 @susan1132 @theriverjern @tommy242 @tylerdeyoung24 @wlhurley. Welcome everyone! If you'd like to join the Illinois Botanists Big Year and get updates like these, hit "Join" in the top right corner here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/illinois-botanists-big-year-2021
To give these new iNatters a helping hand, here is a link to identify their observations: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?iconic_taxa=Plantae&order_by=random&place_id=35&user_after=4w
Species New to Illinois on iNat
Keep an eye on these links below for any documentations that are a first for Illinois on iNaturalist in 2021. You'll often find species on here that are the result of computer vision errors as well as observations that should be marked captive/cultivated. Fixing these helps sort the wheat from the chaff and keeps range maps representative of wild organisms. Many thanks to all who help with quality control. Also, by sorting "not in common", and "before 2021" from most to fewest, you can use these links as a "hitlist" for species we haven't yet found in 2021.
- Non-flowering plants
- Monocots excluding Poales
- Poales (grasses, sedges, rushes, and friends)
- Plants in Asterales (sunflowers and friends)
- Plants in Lamiales (mints and friends)
- Plants in Rosales (roses and friends)
- Plants in Fabales (peas and friends)
- Plants in Caryophyllales (pinks and friends)
- Plants in Malpighiales (nances and friends)
- Plants in Ranunculales (buttercups and friends)
- Plants in Gentiales (gentians and friends)
- Plants in Brassicales (mustards and friends)
- Plants in Apiales (carrots and friends)
- Plants in Fagales (beeches and friends)
- Plants in Boraginales (borages and friends)
- All other (eu)dicots except the groups above
Plant Pic Picks
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage) - temperature outside and inside the spathe by @sedge in Vermilion County
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70293383
Claytonia virginica (spring beauty) by @rarecatsnake in Jackson County
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70113289
Quercus alba (white oak) marcescence on a bright day by @missgreen in DuPage County
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70269211
Papery Dioscorea villosa (wild yam) wind chimes by @abelkinser in Union County
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70426138
Finally, in case you missed it, see past journal posts, like looking back at Illinois botany firsts for iNaturalist and our January 2021 update.
Happy botanizing!
-cassi / @bouteloua