Unique adaptation: The Norway spruce has leaves like needles. This shape reduces the surface area thus prevents water from evaporating especially in dry and cold weathers.

Adaptation in common: There is no adaption in particular that all of my observations have in common, but most of them are able to survive the winter in Montreal. For animals like squirrels, they have thick coats of fur to insulate heat. Others like maples and oak, they have broad leaves to capture sunlight for photosynthesis in order to store nutrients, and they lose those leave in the Fall to reduce water loss.

Phylogeny placement for Norway Spruce : Seed plants - Gymnosperms - Picea Abies

Bird mortalities are still being reported throughout the southwest United States. You can keep up-to-date with migration this fall with Cornell University's Bird Cast Migration Forecast tool:
https://birdcast.info/
You can see real-time migration movements and future migration predications. This tool may help indicate when we can expect to see future mortalities associated with migration. And remember to take a photo of any avian mortalities you encounter and upload an observation to iNaturalist.

Thank you all again for contributing to this project!

Happy Monday iNatters! Hopefully your weekend has left you refreshed, reinvigorated. This week, we noticed that our beloved asters are beginning to bloom in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Asters are arguably one of our most precious fall wildflowers in Ohio.

To be clear, we are not talking about the entire Aster family, Asteraceae. We are talking about the American aster genus, * Symphyotrichum*. As a side note, you may know these species as members of the Aster genus. However, scientists have recently split Aster into multiple smaller genuses. The largest genus from these splits is our American aster genus, Symphyotrichum, which contains asters from both North and South America.

Ohio is home to about 30 American aster species, 13 of which have been documented in the park. In this post, we will go over identifying characteristics of our 5 most common American asters: New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), common blue wood aster(Symphyotrichum cordifolium), calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum), smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve), and hairy white oldfield aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum).

American aster leaves get smaller from the base to the top of the plant and leaf shape can vary along the plant’s height. It’s important to note the size of the plant and to observe the leaves on the entire length of the plant! Additionally, American asters have composite flowers, meaning their flower heads are an amalgamation of many disk (reproductive flowers that make up the central circle of American aster flower heads) and ray flowers (the petal-looking flowers on the edges that attract pollinators). In this explanation, we will mention the color variations of both!

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae):

You’ll find New England asters in fields, damp meadows, and shoreline habitat. They have hairy stems with alternately attached leaves. Leaves are lance-shaped and clasping (meaning the leaf base partially surrounds the stem). The inner yellow to golden disk florets are surrounded by those signature purple to deep violet ray florets we all know and love!

Credit: The Cosmonaut and davecz2, both courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Common blue wood aster(Symphyotrichum cordifolium):

Common blue wood asters prefer to live in woods and thickets. Their stem is usually hairless but will sometimes have sparse white hairs. The stem is branching with alternately attached leaves. The lower leaves are heart-shaped or ovate with serrate edges and long leaf stalks. The upper leaves become more lance-shaped and the leaf stalk is less noticeable. The ray florets can be a light blue or light purple color. The central tubular disk florets start out a cream to yellow color and turn purple to magenta with age.

Credit: both David G. Smith, courtesy DelawareWildflowers.org

Calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum):

Calico asters can be found in field and edge habitat. This plant branches and often leans to one side. Its stem is green to red with white hairs. The alternately attached leaves are lance-shaped near the bottom of the plant with teeth in the middle of the leaf’s length. The leaves become more linear toward the top of the plant. The white ray florets surround the tubular disk florets that start out a pale yellow and become brown or magenta with age.

Credit: Thomas G. Barnes and Katy Chayka.

Smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve):

The smooth blue aster has a smooth and hairless stem with clasping, alternately attached leaves. The leaves are oblong-ovate in shape and get smaller as you ascend the plant. The leaf edges are often smooth but can sometimes be sparsely toothed. The ray florets on this plant can be light purple to light blue. The central disk florets will start out a pale-yellow color that fades to magenta and then brown over time. You’ll find smooth blue asters in dry fields and open woods.

Credit: Arthur Haines, John Hilty, courtesy of Illinois WIldflowers

Hairy white oldfield aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum):

The Hairy white oldfield aster prefers field, meadow, and roadside habitat. Its leaves are alternately attached to its hairy stem. The lower stem, however, turns a reddish brown and loses hair with age. Its leaves are lanceolate-elliptic shaped (a leaf shape resembling two elongated parentheses next to each other). While the lower leaves sometimes have teeth near the tips, the upper leaves will have smooth margins. The white ray florets will surround yellow, magenta, or red-brown disk florets.

Credit: John Hilty, courtesy Illinois Wildflowers and Katy Chayka

If you have questions about American asters or notice a detail I’ve missed, please add it to the comments below! As always, I have used my Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide and John Hilty’s Illinois Wildflowers online guide for the above identification tips. Enjoy your fall aster hunting. I can’t wait to see all of your lovely observations!

Since Ava, Sam, and I chose to do observe water species in our project, we were able to find lots of organisms with similar adaptations and traits. One thing we found in common with most of the plants the three of us observed, (but specifically the tall goldenrod I found, the tufted hair grass Ava found, and the toadflax Sam found), was the length of the roots. Since the plants live on the edge of a waterway, it makes sense that they have long roots to reach nutrients in both the soil on the water bank and the soil underneath the waterway.
I also found lots of flowers, particularly the cow parsley, that had very long stems and flowers that spread outward and upward. I think this adaptation became advantageous because being next to the canal, the riverbank is lowered from the sidewalk level and the plants need to reach to get more sunlight.
Even though I've spent my entire life having it drilled into me how big the tree of life is in my biology classes, it was interesting to watch the tree spiral down to find the locust borer, a bug I observed during the lab. Once I zoomed out I could barely zoom back in. Basically the locust borer exists very deep within the tree, falling under the taxonomy of being an insect and a beetle. It's interesting how it branches off even further within those two groups as well– although it is mostly surrounded by other beetles and similarly related organisms, it's cool how you can scroll back for 10 seconds and see how the locust borers aren't very far from ladybugs or other common insects.

The Pale Jewelweed comes from the family Balsaminaceae and the genus Impatiens. The most common ancestor is the Pale Snapweed and the Impatiens minor. These flowers are native to Canada and the US.

Almost all of my observations except the clover are relatively tall. This is potentially an adaptation to allow the plants to reach more sun, and to attract more pollinators with their flowers.

The Burdock plant has flowers that are surrounded by involucre - pointed and curved bracts that attach themselves easily to fur. This is an adaptation that allows the seeds to be carried and distributed short and long distances, so that it can grow and fertilize.

I choose Pygmy Water-Lily from my observations. To determine the phylogeny placement, I first noted that this species clearly belongs to Plantae and it has flowers. This quickly helped me to narrow down my choices to angiosperms. Since water-lily is a common plant, so it wasn't difficult to locate genus Nymphaea by following picture of the descendants from each splits on the Tree of Life from OneZoom.

One adaptation of all the observations in the project is that flowers are always at the tip of the plant. I suppose this is evolved in order to best attract pollinators like insects. It would be less visible to them if flowers are hidden behind leaves or in between branches.

A special adaptation from one of my observations, the water lilies, is that their flowers close around sunset but open again tomorrow sunrise. It is speculated that water lilies do so because their pollinators are diurnal. Opening petals every morning can prevent the pollens from being eaten by nocturnal animals. This can also protect the flower from nighttime frost or morning dew. In my observation I have included pictures taken in the afternoon and at dusk, showing the difference in the status of petals. This habit gives water lilies the common name of "sleeping lilies" in Chinese.

The roundleaf greenbrier, which I had observed at Manasquan Reservoir belongs to the 'common greenbriers', which fall under ' petrosaviidae', which are members to 'monocotyledons' under 'seed plants' which fall under 'land plants' which are a subcategory of 'plant, alveolate, brown algae and more' all of which fall under ' Eukaryotes'.

What all of the observed species have in common is the fact that they are all located somewhere in nature and have relied on the weather for its growth and nourishment ( as opposed to human watering). All of the species use rain for its transportation of important nutrients like dissolved sugar, to help them grow and flourish.

The round leaf greenbrier species that I had seen is unique to all the other species as in it has green vines with thorns whose leaves are typically glossy green, heart shaped and on average 5-3 cm long.

Phylogeny of the brown lipped snail:
The brown lipped snail, also known as the grove snail, is known scientifically as Capaea nemoralis. It’s phylum Mollusca is very diverse and includes animals like squids, but it’s class Gastropoda is specific to just snails and slugs, while its family Helicidae is limited to air-breathing land snails.

The specimen looks like this image of a brown lipped snail taken by carlacorazza on iNaturalist:

An adaptation present in all observed species:
A specific adaptation common to all the decomposers observed is they secrete substances to live, including enzymes, mucus, and slime. For example, fungi secrete digestive enzymes to help them digest food extracellularly, worms secrete mucus to help them breath through their skin (aids in diffusion), and snails and slugs secrete “slime” to protect themselves from hazards.

One unique adaptation to one organism:
One unique adaptation of the brown lipped snail is the diversity in shell colour (brown, dark pink, light pink, very pale pink, dark yellow, and light yellow) and how the frequency of one shell colour changes based on location. Brown lipped snails are hunted by the song thrush bird which hunt by sight alone, so if the snail’s shell does not match its habitat it is more likely to be caught and die, explaining why certain shell colours would be favourable in similarly coloured locations.

I chose to look at Spotted Jewelweed (also known as Wild touch-me-not) on OneZoom and found that it was placed under eukaryotes -> plants -> land plants (as opposed to algae/aquatic plants) -> vascular plants (angiosperms fall under this category) -> flowering plants -> eudicots (a division that makes up ~75% of all angiosperms) -> balsam family (includes the genus of my observation, "Impatiens").

Since all angiosperms are vascular plants, all our observations have the common adaptations of the waxy cuticle and stomata. The cuticle prevents water loss while the stomata regulates the movement of water vapour, carbon dioxide, etc. in and out of the plant.

One unique adaptation of Nodding Beggarticks is that it holds the head of the plant downwards to help promote seed dispersal. This adaptation is also evident in the name of the plant as "nodding" refers to the flower head hanging down. Additionally, the seeds are hooked and likely to become latched on people, animals, etc. which also allows the plant to spread its seeds efficiently.

Phylogenic Tree of Dandelion: All Life → Eukaryotes → Diphoda → Green Plants → Vascular Plants → Seed Plants → Flowering Plants → Dandelions.

Adaptation: All observed species in my group has evolved to photosynthesize using O2. The process of aerobic photosynthesis in plants is: "6CO2 + 6H20 + (energy) → C6H12O6 + 6O2".

Unique Adaptation of 1: Dandelions have adapted their seed dispersal so that it is easily spread by the wind and can rapidly reproduce.

Compiled by Bill Carr:

Scientific names generally follow the USDA PLANTS database (http://plants.usda.gov/java/) or the flora of North-Central Texas (Diggs, Lipscomb & O’Kennon, 1999), with synonymy from pertinent manuals (e.g., Correll & Johnston, 1970) appearing in parentheses. Common names follow various sources listed in the references cited at the end of the list. Codes in Nativity column: E = exotic, i.e., not native to Texas; N = native to Texas; N+ = endemic to (found only in) Texas. Codes in Form column: AQ = aquatic forb; FA = annual forb; FAV = annual vine forb; FB = biennial forb; FP = perennial forb; FPV = perennial vine forb; GA = annual grass or grasslike plant; GP = perennial grass or grasslike plant; PP = perennial fern or fern ally; S = shrub; T = tree; WV = woody vine.

Family Scientific Name Common Name Nativity Form
Acanthaceae Ruellia nudiflora common wild-petunia N FP
Agavaceae Diospyros texana Texas persimmon N S
Agavaceae Yucca rupicola twistleaf yucca N+ S
Apiaceae Torilis arvensis beggar’s ticks, sockbane E FA
Asclepiadaceae Asclepias oenotheroides hierba de zizotes N FP
Asclepiadaceae Asclepias viridiflora wand milkweed N FP
Asclepiadaceae Matelea reticulata pearl milkvine N FPV
Asteraceae Ageratina havanensis (Eupatorium havanense) shrubby boneset N S
Asteraceae Ambrosia psilostachya western ragweed N FP
Asteraceae Baccharis neglecta poverty weed, Roosevelt weed N S
Asteraceae Calyptocarpus vialis straggler daisy N FP
Asteraceae Cirsium texanum Texas thistle N FB
Asteraceae Diaperia verna (Evax verna) roundhead rabbit-tobacco N FA
Asteraceae Erigeron modestus prairie fleabane N FP
Asteraceae Eupatorium serotinum late boneset N FP
Asteraceae Gaillardia pulchella Indian blanket, firewheels N FA
Asteraceae Gutierrezia texana Texas broomweed N FA
Asteraceae Iva angustifolia narrowleaf sumpweed, narrowleaf marsh-elder N FA
Asteraceae Pluchea odorata (P. purpurascens) camphorweed N FA
Asteraceae Ratibida columnifera (R. columnaris) Mexican hat N FP
Asteraceae Rudbeckia hirta brown-eyed Susan N FA
Asteraceae Solidago altissima tall goldenrod N FP
Asteraceae Symphyotrichum divaricatum southern annual saltmarsh aster N FA
Asteraceae Thelesperma filifolium slender greenthread N FP
Asteraceae Verbesina virginica frostweed, iceplant N FP
Asteraceae Wedelia hispida (Zexmenia hispida) hairy zexmenia N FP
Berberidaceae Berberis trifoliolata agarito N S
Boraginaceae Heliotropium tenellum pasture heliotrope N FA
Bromeliaceae Tillandsia recurvata ballmoss N FP
Cactaceae Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri (O. lindheimeri) Lindheimer pricklypear N S
Convolvulaceae Dichondra sp. (D. carolinensis? ponyfoot N FP
Convolvulaceae Ipomoea cordatotriloba (I. trichocarpa) common morning-glory N FPV
Cupressaceae Juniperus ashei Ashe juniper, mountain cedar N T
Cyperaceae Carex planostachys cedar sedge N GP
Cyperaceae Cyperus sp. (C. retroflexus?) oneflower flatsedge N GP
Ebenaceae Diospyros texana Texas persimmon N S
Euphorbiaceae Cnidoscolus texanus Texas bull-nettle N FP
Euphorbiaceae Croton monanthogynus oneseed croton N FA
Euphorbiaceae Croton monanthogynus one-seed croton, prairie tea, doveweed N FA
Euphorbiaceae Euphorbia cyathophora painted spurge N FA
Euphorbiaceae Euphorbia dentata toothed spurge, toothed poinsettia N FA
Euphorbiaceae Euphorbia marginata snow-on-the-prairie N FA
Euphorbiaceae Phyllanthus polygonoides knotweed leaf-flower N FP
Euphorbiaceae Poinsettia dentata (Euphorbia dentata) toothed spurge N FA
Euphorbiaceae Stillingia texana Texas queen's delight N FP
Euphorbiaceae Tragia ramosa common noseburn N FPV
Fabaceae Desmanthus velutinus velvet bundleflower N FP
Fabaceae Indigofera miniata scarlet pea N FP
Fabaceae Rhynchosia senna var. texana Texas snoutbean N FPV
Fabaceae Senna roemeriana twoleaf senna N FP
Fabaceae Styphnolobium affine (Sophora affinis) Eve’s necklace N T
Fagaceae Quercus fusiformis blackjack oak N T
Fagaceae Quercus fusiformis plateau live oak N T
Fagaceae Quercus fusiformis plateau live oak N T
Fagaceae Quercus stellata post oak N T
Gentianaceae Eustoma grandiflora (E. russellianum) Bluebell gentian N FP
Lamiaceae Hedeoma acinoides false pennyroyal N FA
Lamiaceae Monarda citriodora purple horsemint N FA
Lamiaceae Salvia texana Texas sage N FP
Liliaceae Cooperia pedunculata broadleaf rain-lily N FP
Liliaceae Nothoscordum bivalve crow poison N FP
Malvaceae Sida abutifolia creeping yellow sida N FP
Oleaceae Forestiera pubescens elbowbush N S
Oxalidaceae Oxalis dillenii yellow sour-clover N FP
Oxalidaceae Oxalis drummondii Drummond wood-sorrel N FP
Passifloraceae Passiflora affinis passionflower N FPV
Passifloraceae Passiflora tenuiloba slenderlobe passionflower N FPV
Plantaginaceae Plantago rhodosperma redseed plantain N FA
Poaceae Aristida purpurea purple threeawn N GP
Poaceae Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica King Ranch bluestem E GP
Poaceae Bothriochloa laguroides var. torreyana silver bluestem N GP
Poaceae Bouteloua curtipendula sideoats grama N GP
Poaceae Bouteloua hirsuta hairy grama N GP
Poaceae Bromus japonicus Japanese brome E GA
Poaceae Chloris latisquamea tumble windmillgrass N GP
Poaceae Cynodon dactylon Bermudagrass E GP
Poaceae Dichanthelium acuminatum var. lindheimeri Lindheimer’s rosettegrass N GP
Poaceae Dichanthelium oligosanthes var. scribnerianum Scribner panicgrass, N GP
Poaceae Echinochloa colona barnyardgrass, jungle-rice E GA
Poaceae Elymus canadensis Canada wildrye N GP
Poaceae Elymus virginicus Virginia wildrye N GP
Poaceae Eragrostis intermedia plains lovegrass N GP
Poaceae Hilaria belangeri curlymesquite N GP
Poaceae Leptochloa dubia green sprangletop N GP
Poaceae Muhlenbergia involuta Hybrid muhly N GP
Poaceae Muhlenbergia reverchonii seep muhly N GP
Poaceae Muhlenbergia utilis aparejograss N GP
Poaceae Panicum coloratum Kleingrass E GP
Poaceae Panicum hallii Hall's panicum N GP
Poaceae Paspalum dilatatum dallisgrass E GP
Poaceae Paspalum pubiflorum hairyseed paspalum N GP
Poaceae Schizachyrium scoparium little bluestem N GP
Poaceae Sorghastrum nutans Indiangrass N GP
Poaceae Sporobolus compositus var. asper meadow dropseed N GP
Polygalaceae Rhinotropis lindheimeri (Polygala lindheimeri) Lindheimer’s milkwort N FP
Rosaceae Rubus trivialis southern dewberry N S
Rubiaceae Stenaria nigricans (Hedyotis nigricans) prairie bluets N FP
Rutaceae Zanthoxylum hirsutum toothache tree, tickle-tongue N S
Sapindaceae Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii western soapberry N T
Sapotaceae Sideroxylon lanuginosum (Bumelia lanuginosa) gum bumelia N T/S
Smilacaceae Smilax bona nox saw greenbriar N WV
Solanaceae Physalis sp. ground-cherry N FA
Ulmaceae Celtis reticulata netleaf hackberry N T
Ulmaceae Ulmus crassifolia cedar elm N T
Verbenaceae Callicarpa americana American beautyberry N S
Verbenaceae Glandularia bipinnatifida (Verbena bipinnatifida) Dakota vervain N FA
Verbenaceae Lantana urticoides lantana N S
Verbenaceae Phyla nodiflora (P. incisa) fogfruit N FP
Verbenaceae Verbena brasiliensis Brazilian vervain E FP
Vitaceae Cissus trifolia (C. incisa) ivy treebine, cow-itch vine N FPV

Selected References

Correll, D. S. and M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Research Foundation, Renner. 1881 pp.
Diggs, G. M., Jr., B. L. Lipscomb and R. J. O'Kennon. 1999. Shinners and Mahler's illustrated flora of North-central Texas. Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Ft. Worth. 1626 pp.
Enquist, M. 1987. Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country. Lone Star Botanical, Austin. 275 pp.
Gould, F. W. 1975. The grasses of Texas. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 653 pp.
Hatch, S. L., K. N. Gandhi, and L. E. Brown. 1990. Checklist of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A & M University, College Station. 158 pp.
Loflin, B. and S. Loflin. 2006. Grasses of the Texas Hill Country. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 195 pp.
Loflin, B. and S. Loflin. 2009. Texas cacti. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 291 pp.
Shaw, R. B. 2012. Guide to Texas grasses. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 1080 pp.
Weniger, D. 1984. Cacti of Texas and neighboring states: a field guide. University of Texas Press, Austin. 356 pp.
Wrede, J. 2010. Trees, shrubs, and vines of the Texas Hill Country. Second edition. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 259 pp.

For me, the three best things about the internet for Fungi are Mycoquebec, MO and iNat. Facebook is as harmful as it is helpful, in my opinion. You feel me? Otherwise, why would we need SO Many mushroom pages?

iNat gets made fun of a lot in certain circles. The one I'm familiar with would say something like this: "iNat, you say? Really? Every time I go on there it's a shit show of bad ID's and top down pics?!? No provisonal names, slow taxonomic curation. Hahaha, this guy! Am I right?! Hi-five! Damn, it's not even close to MO, he's way off his rocker."

To those people I would say, I'm not going to say it's not these things. In some ways it is. For example, what if I told you that there are almost as many observations in the last three months as there are on all of MO? That surely would explain the quality issues.

"But there are no good people on there!" What if I tell you that 6 out of the top ten mushrooom ID'ers who I know are my better have identified more mushrooms than are on all of MO?

"But MO?!!" Yeah, I hear you, it needs help, as much or more than we've been giving it. I'm not here to tell you to pick sides. I want MO to keep going and growing as much as anyone. I would switch back if it were easier, or upload my iNat stuff there if it were possible.

Facebook was cool, at one time, I am told, and they're still are pockets of good. I am hopeful still, but it is a microcosm of the world we live in.

So my point is this: take some of the time you would spend on here, and put it into MO or iNat. iNat needs the ID help, and MO is probably good with ID help but, $ or programmers, I don't know, I'm neither of those things right now.

The species Lamium Maculatum, also known as Spotted Deadnettle, is a species of perennial herb in the family of Lamiaceae, native throughout Europe. This phylogeny placement specifically identifies L. maculatum in the Platae Kingdom.

One common adaptation that was observed was the addition of flowers or berries growing as a part of the plant. This adaptation developed centuries ago for plants to attract insects and/or pollinators, thus aiding with reproduction.

One unique adaptation observed was toothed leaves, seen in the Mollow Family. This adaptation has evolved to increase transpiration and photosynthesis within plants. Toothed leaves allow plants to grow and make food quicker due to the increase in surface area, thus increasing efficiency.

• The walnut family (Juglandaceae) is located in the fabids category, near the beech family. This is in the wider category of flowering plants, then land plants, then plants, alveolates, brown algae, and more, and finally Eukaryotes.
• An adaptation that is present in all plants is having Stomata. Stomata are pores that allow gas exchange between the environment and the plant’s cells.

(http://organismalbio.biosci.gatech.edu/biodiversity/land-plants/#:~:text=The%20adaptations%20and%20characteristics%20which,radiation%20damage%20from%20UV%20light.)

• Red clover tolerates soils that are not very fertile and have moderate acid levels. It also tolerates cold temperatures and shade better than many plants. Although it’s primary stem is small, it has many branches growing off of it.

(http://www.uwyo.edu/plantsciences/uwplant/forages/legume/red-clover.html)

The metasequoia glyptostroboides, commonly known as the dawn redwood, are in the Eukarya domain, located in the Plantae kingdom, specifically in the subkingdom Tracheobionta, and the superdivision of "seed plants" known scientifically as Spermatophyta. The dawn redwood is within the Coniferophyta division, the class Pinopsida and is a part of the Cupressaceae family. Common ancestors of the Metasequoia genus, and the dawn redwood, include the coast redwood and the giant sequoia.

The thicker, outer bark of coniferous trees, like those that can be found on Montreal's streets, is necessary for protecting the tree against environmental threats. For example, the ridged details of bark hold moisture, slow the rate of changing temperature, and regulate the tree's core temperature, protecting it from damage due to the cold. As well, the thick bark can act as a protectant against fires and parasitic fungi, bacteria or insects, preserving the inner core of the tree where vital processes such as the transport of sugar and nutrients in the tree's phloem occur.

The Kentucky Coffeetree is a member of the legume family Fabaceae that germinates via thick oval seeds protected by a hard, often impermeable cover. Ecologists and botanists believe that the thick impermeable pod of the Kentucky Coffeetree was an adaptation that coincided with the Mastodon's existence, an extinct species that is believed to share an ancestor with the Elephant. These pods' impermeability would protect the seeds as they were digested by the Mastodon, allowing for seed dispersal of the Kentucky Coffeetree to be extended to the vast distances travelled by Mastodon populations.

As of September 20, 2020, iNaturalist has more than 50 million records of wild biodiversity with photos or sounds to allow verification by the community — Canada contributing almost four million to that total.

This year, despite a pandemic and numerous natural disasters, the resilient iNaturalist community continues to forge new connections and discoveries. It has been just 13 months since we passed 25 million observations—continuing iNaturalist’s trend of roughly doubling the number of observations and participants each year since 2012.

Want to know the where and what of those 50 million observations? Check out the breakdown on the iNaturalist.org blog >

All the observations I have made about trees on my local streets have one thing in common: the bark being adapted to certain climates. Thick bark exists among trees that are from drier, temperate forests whereas smooth, thin bark is for high humidity in tropical rainforests. The thick bark helps limit moisture evaporation from the tree trunk whereas trees that did not need to adapt to drier climates have thin bark. One observation I focused on was the white spruce tree. It is has adapted to be cone shaped to allow snow to fall off of it to prevent an accumulation of snow that could collapse the tree.

Eukary > plants > vascular plants > pinales > pineceae > picea > picea glauca > white spruce

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60025054

A common adaptation for all of these plants are that they have grown very close to the ground allowing them to obtain their specific water and sunlight needs. All of these selected plants I have obtained were found in various areas close to trees and mostly close to the ground. This indicates that these plants do not need as much light source as others in less shaded areas and have all adapted their structures around that.

One specific adaptation for the Virginia Creeper ( Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is that it grew beside and up a tree. This adaptation helps them to grow a lot quicker and stronger. These types of plants are known to grow upwards and around whatever they are close to (as they are commonly used for in outdoor decor). Being close to a tree will allow this plant to freely grow and climb where it wants to. Had it been in a large field, the growth rate would be reduced as there could be too much sunlight and limited space to grow/climb. Overall, being close to the tree allows this plant to easily grow where it wants to and towards the correct amount of sunlight it wishes to obtain.

The phylogeny of the Common Buckhorn is in the domain Eukarya, kingdom Plantea, phylum Spermatophyta, class Dicotyladonae, order Rhamnales, family Rhamnacaea, genus Rhamnus, and finally the species Rhamnus cathartica.

se inicio el monitoreo alas 10.00 am en el lugar fucha mallinco hasta el puente negro 16:00 pm, se recorrió aproximadamente 1,45 km, por agua y por tierra, se logro observar macroinvertebrados con la ayuda de una malla para capturarlos, flora asociada al rio, plantas acuaticas, fauna nativa.

Hi everyone. Wow, did we make a big jump this past weekend in observations. Thank you to everyone who has joined our BioBlitz and is making observations or confirming IDs! The wonderful fall weather we're having must have had something to do with it!

As of this morning, one park still needs some observations. Eugene Fasick Park does need some attention during the last 10 days if anyone can get there. The park actually has two sections that connect through a small trail system. Along the edges of Spring Creek are some habitat areas that should allow for some observations. Parking is available at the main park site off of Fasick Lane in Boalsburg.

Remember, this event is specifically for pollinators--plants and pollinators themselves. The categories are included in the project listing, so we are looking for this kind of data for the parks so that we may make future decisions regarding mowed areas, pollinator plantings, grass meadows, etc.

Thank you all again and we look forward to a big finish on September 30!!

I was out measuring the DBH of trees in an urban city (Meyzieu) and I found this huge pine tree with a DBH of 87 cm. It was used for decorative purposes (in a neatly trimmed plot with flowers beneath), but the DBH also hints at its important age. I think it's important for cities to preserve these ancient trees (especially native) and this one is an example of how they can be very well integrated in the scenery. Cities often introduce new species for their attractiveness, but these are not as adapted to the climate as native species and they could disturb the balance of the natural tree distribution.

Among my ten observations, I took a closer look at Asiatic dayflower (Commelina communis) by using OneZoom. According to OneZoom, it is placed in Commelina Genus, which is a genus of 211 dayflower species. It belongs to Commelina, Commelinaceae, Commelinales, Commelinids, Monocots, Angiosperms, Tracheophytes, Plante Kingdom.

One common adaptation of all the plants I observed is that they all have flowers. The unique colors and fragrances of these flowers attract pollinators, such as birds and insects, to help them transfer pollen and reproduce.

One unique adaptation of Marvel of Peru is that they only bloom in dusk and evening. This is because they attracts moths for pollination, and some moths are active during sunset and most of the moths are active during evening. Blooming in these periods of the day gives them an advantage for reproduction.

На днях число участников iNaturalist, сделавших хотя бы одно наблюдение на территории России превысило 15 тыс., из них 9 тысяч присоединилась к iNaturalist в этом году.
Но ⅔ из них сделали не более 10 находок за все время. Число натуралистов, собирающих цифровые наблюдения не первый год на сегодняшний день около 2 тыс., что почти на 300 человек превышает общее число активных участников в 2018 году.

Несмотря на то, что общее число участников iNaturalist в России уже составляет население небольшого города, в относительных показателях это всего 1 человек на 10 000 населения России, в то время как в Германии - это 1 из 4500, во Франции 1 из 1500, в США, где собственно появился iNaturalist - 1 на 450, а в соседней Финляндии 1 на 430 человек.

It's the end of another Okanagana season and like everything else this year it's been a weird one. The rediscovery of Okanagana arctostaphylae after 105 years, 4 of the mysterious Bliven taxa randomly showing up in Eugene, Oregon, and fantastic finds from an O. catalina flying into someone's car before they left the island to hand raised O. arboraria. Other places that have been hopping in other years were practically devoid of Okanagana to our complete bafflement but had other genera in abundance.

Jeff and I will now be able to start molecular work in February thanks to the huge number of taxa collected by the folks here on iNaturalist. You have all helped fill in major gaps, many of which we though would never be filled. The last few are some highly targeted species that require going to very specific areas in hopes of finding them.

Tomorrow the last two mailers make their way back to me and I can get a good look at the last two sets of cicadas that were collected. One includes the quite uncommon Okanagana gibbera.

A big thanks to all of you!

I stumbled upon a Wisteria plant in College Notre Dame de Jamhour. I was confused at first since they come from China, Korea, Japan,... And the environment and climate conditions in which they are are really different from the ones here

Phylogeny placement : Chinese wisteria

One adaptation that all observations have in common: All these plants were able to develop and flourish in the same environment, under the exact same circumstances ( temperature, climate, same soil, fauna ... )

One unique adaptation for this observation in particular: full sun / light shade in order for them to flower- moist soil- with a large high structure on which they can be trained against

This plant is native to East Mediterranean forests. So finding it in my high school's forest in Lebanon with the help of my high school's biology teacher was a great proof for what is known about this plant. But I was amazed to see the diversity of species found in a forest I thought I knew well and especially to see all those different species growing and existing in such a humid climate.

Phylogeny for Southern Cone Marigold (Also known as Mexican Marigold):

All life – Eukaryotes – Plants – Land plants – Seed plants – Flowering plants – Eudicots – Pentapentalae – Asterids – Asterales – daisy family – Asteroideae – Heliantheae alliance – Tageteae - Tagetes- Southern Cone Marigold

One unique adaptation for one of my observations:

The Large White-headed Gull species that I observed has developed fins at his feet (or webbed feet). Having webbed feet helps them maneuver efficiently in water.

One adaptation that all my observations have in common:

All of my observations are multi cellular organisms. All of them depend on an ecosystem that they take part in (the captive plants do not actually really take part in that system but they do when in their natural habitat).

One adaptation for all observations:
The plants and trees were found in Dubai, a dry city in the middle of the desert where temperatures rise greatly over the whole year. To be able to grow here, these species have adapted to the extreme heat and drought and can tolerate water shortages.

One unique adaptation:
The Bougainvillea plant has adapted to facilitate cross-pollination. What looks like big pink petals are in fact specially adapted leaves that are called “bracts”. They have the same functions as the other green leaves on the plant, but attract various pollinators (bees, butterflies…) with their vibrant color.

Plumeria Obtusa classification:
Eukaryota > Archaeplastida > Plantae > Angiosperms > Magnoliopsida > Gentianales > Apocynaceae > Plumeria > Plumeria Obtusa

All of my observations in this project are included in Kingdom Plantae. Plants provide habitats for many organisms and those organisms can also feed on them. Observed plants have three main characteristics:
1- They are Eukaryotes
2- They can perform photosynthesis using chlorophyll which is a green pigment
3- They are multi-cellular organisms

Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana), one of my observations, is known for it's unique silvery plume-like flower clusters. These flowers contain feathery seeds which can be dispersed by wind.

Taxonomy of Pampas Grass: Eukaryota > Plantae > Spermatophyta > Angiospermae > Monocotyledonae > Poales > Poaceae > Cortaderia > Cortaderia selloana