Verbena hastata (blue vervain) photo by Paul Sweet (CC BY-NC)
Stats
It’s July 20th, it’s been hot, it’s been humid, and the ILBBY’s racked up:
1,779 observers (+294 since last month’s update)
25,881 research grade observations of plants (+5,314)
1,324 species (+184)
855 identifiers (+128)
Now things are getting exciting, with @dziomber (Derek) jumping into first place in front of @wildlandblogger (Jared). Derek has 655 species while Jared is at 650.
The top 10 leaderboard, botanizers with the most research grade species of plants in Illinois in 2019 are:
- @dziomber — 655
- @wildlandblogger — 650
- @sanguinaria33 — 537
- @kkucera — 445
- @johnhboldt — 432
- @skrentnyjeff — 422
- @bouteloua — 397
- @elfaulkner — 388
- @sedge — 376
- @missgreen — 321
In the map below, everyone’s observations are in grey, while dziomber is teal and wildlandblogger is orange. It’s a bit rectangular in the Chicago area due to the way obscured geoprivacy works on iNaturalist. More info about that here.
Since last month’s update, another seven botanizers have made research grade observations of over 100 species of plants in Illinois this year: @d_coulter @naturalist_glenn @outdoorsie the mysterious @prairiehobbit @psweet @stocksdale and @woodridgejeff Whoo! Just shy of 100 are @matt167 @eriko @wildernessbarbie @carolt-80 and @eattaway92.
New to following the ILBBY project are @illinois_joy, @jingyilu, and @michelle894. Welcome!
New to observing plants in Illinois on iNaturalist are @anthony438 @audreychung @dsbarry @gloriao147 @jenniferannifer @kcramp @marissaannis @maryh74 @nichole47 @profspinifera @samib3108 and @teriknaff, among many others. If you want to stay apprised of 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!
Lovely portrait of a Verbena hastata (blue vervain) by @psweet in Lake County: |
Beckmannia syzigachne (American slough grass) by @johnhboldt in Cook County: |
Fuzzy Aphyllon ludovicianum (Louisiana bloomgreat) by @elfaulkner in Lee County: |
Calopogon tuberosus (grasspink orchids) by @randyshonkwiler in Cook County: |
Angelica atropurpurea (great angelica) waving hello by @redadmiral98 in Lee County: |
Carex leptalea by @sedge in McHenry County:
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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
And keep an eye on these links below for any new documentations in 2019. I commented on a few new ones that folks like @andrewhipp @dziomber @johnhboldt @skrentnyjeff and @woodridgejeff 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)
- All other (eu)dicots except the groups above