Diario del proyecto Illinois Botanists Big Year 2019

Stats

It's October 9th, flowers are just about winked out, and the Illinois Botanists Big Year's got:

3,247 observers (+1,468 since our last update)
43,981 research grade observations of plants (+18,100)
1,705 species (+381)
1,270 identifiers (+415)

The top 10 leaderboard, botanizers with the most research grade species of plants in Illinois in 2019 are:

1. @dziomber — 896
2. @wildlandblogger — 857
3. @sanguinaria33 — 807
4. @sedge — 679
5. @elfaulkner — 651
6. @johnhboldt — 599
7. @skrentnyjeff — 571
8. @kkucera — 478
9. @bouteloua — 470
10. @missgreen — 352

The 100 Club: Since our last update, a bunch more botanizers have made research grade observations of over 100 species of plants in Illinois this year: @maureenclare, @redadmiral98, @timfelinski0251, @eriko, @matt167, @jenhugstrees, @eattaway92, @plantdruid, @randyshonkwiler, @rin_nd, @k2018lena, @carolt-80, @joelmc, @ewarden, @ty-sharrow, @mn2010, @brendanrattin, @wildernessbarbie, @vvoelker, @rtriveline, and @rgraveolens! Whoo!

New to following the ILBBY project are @eriko, @esp, @jenhugstrees, @cleaarbogast, @jfaupel, @rlammann, @kennedy9094, @naturalist_zeb, and @taco2000. Welcome!

New to observing plants in Illinois on iNaturalist are @apncvisitor, @ilovestuff, @illinoiswildflowers, @sandijustad, @zach_skuby, @timmiller1, @tonyfleming, @treeguy1234, @alex1231, @ralph54, @samau, @paulfrederiksen, @pavoss64, @jannebrown, @goulet, @ebeobservations, @kerohling, @rarecatsnake, @kassiehenrikson, @biobirdnerd, @iacampoverde, @sivicek, @jessicahertel, @reyfoxx, @hernajos110, @naturelady23, @steinhauer, and @angeldelacruz2ndhour among many others. If you want to get Illinois Botanists Big Year updates, you can join the project here.

Plant Pic Picks

Don't forget to favorite observations to highlight good photos or cool finds!
In no particular order, some lovely plant pics by Illinois botanizers:

Lobelia siphilitica by @jwmoonflower in Coles County:

Pinky Monotropa uniflora by @kennedy9094 in Cook County:

This bouquet of Scirpus cyperinus by @wildlandblogger in Johnson County:

Chasmanthium latifolium by @illinoiswildflowers in Champaign County:

Ageratina altissima by @psweet in Lake County:

Elymus hystrix by @ralph54 in Kane County:

Help Identify

As always, please help your fellow botanists, when yr able, to identify/confirm their observations. Try sorting by "new users" or "random" to mix it up!

Species New to Illinois on iNat

Continue to keep an eye on these links below for any new documentations in 2019. I commented on a few new ones that folks like @wildlandblogger, @sedge, @vvoelker, @labaird, @plantdruid, and @lwalther have found since our last update. Great work!

• Non-flowering plants
• Monocots excluding Poales
• Poales (grasses, sedges, rushes, & friends)
• Plants in Asterales (sunflower family and friends)
• Plants in Fabales (pea family and friends)
• Plants in Lamiales (mint family and friends)
• 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)
• Plants in Boraginales (borage family and friends)
• Plants in Malpighiales (nance family and friends)
• All other (eu)dicots except the groups above

And finally, coming up not this but next Friday:

Wink & Swillhelm at The Garage Bar

Friday, October 18th, 2019
starting at 6:30PM and going to 9:30PMish or whenever
at The Garage Bar & Sandwiches, 6154 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago (Norwood Park)

Come meet and hang with other local botany and ecology enthusiasts at The Garage Bar in northwest Chicago! We'll be in the room upstairs.

Facebook event for people who like that: https://www.facebook.com/events/2403057686577194/

Pretty informal, come whenever and no need to RSVP nor to be a current INPS member.
Though you should join! :) https://ill-inps.org/northeast-chapter/

Hope to see you there!

Short version: Log into iNaturalist and go here! Click one of the photos to view more details and add or confirm an identification.

+++ Help Identify +++

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Long version: No observation makes it into the Illinois Botanists Big Year (ILBBY) or gets passed on to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) without at least two identifications. Making IDs is a great way to learn, see the diversity of species found in an area, contribute to science, and get to know other naturalists out there observing.

The Identify page on the iNaturalist website makes IDing really streamlined, especially once you start using the keyboard shortcuts. You can access the Identify page from the website by clicking the Identify link in the main header. Then click any image to view it in the "pop-up" modal in order to view the photos larger, add an ID, or see other details. There is unfortunately no similar quick and easy way right now to add identifications from the apps, so it's recommended to use a laptop or desktop computer.

Check out this useful video tutorial for using the Identify page on the iNaturalist website:

Here is a URL filtered to identify plants in Illinois observed in 2019: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?iconic_taxa=Plantae%2Cunknown&order_by=random&place_id=35&year=2019 I recommend bookmarking it so that it's easy to access. You can use the filters on the Identify page to show exactly the type of observations you're interested in.

Even a broad identification can be really helpful. So if you know it's in the aster family (Asteraceae), but not which species exactly, you can add an ID at family level. That way people looking to help ID observations in that family can find it easier.

Have questions about making identifications on iNaturalist? This Identification Etiquette post answers a lot of common questions. You can also ask below or start a new topic on the iNaturalist Forum.