Entering plant records? please read this!
Two issues have come up in our review of vascular plant records in iNaturalist and with a small amount of extra effort for some observations you can help us better track the occurrence of rare species in Ontario.
Some plants (and other groups) are difficult or impossible to identify unless key identification features are clearly visible in the photo(s) provided. When documenting difficult to identify plants (e.g. many sedges, grasses, rushes, aquatics), please take multiple photos including photos of critical identification characters. Provide notes on identification features observed but not documented in the photos (e.g. fragrance). Include comments on how your identification was made (e.g. what features were used to distinguish the plant from similar species?).
NHIC only tracks presumed natural populations (i.e. not deliberately or accidentally introduced by humans) of species native to Ontario. Some records being submitted to the NHIC iNaturalist project are of cultivated plants. These should have the “Organism is not wild” box indicated as yes. Other observations are of naturalized individuals or populations well beyond the native range of the species; common species in this category include Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans), Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), and Redbud (Cercis canadensis). More difficult are observations of species which may have escaped cultivation or been deliberately planted (e.g. in prairie restoration/revegetation projects) within or close to their native range.
To help tackle this second issue, we've created a new data field (Native_status?) to track that status - please fill this in if you know the status at this site. If you don't know the status, please leave the field blank or select "Unknown". Some other tips to help distinguish between native populations and naturalized populations (i.e. introduced to the area by humans or vehicles and spreading) it is very helpful if observers provide some habitat information. Was the observation along a road or railway? Was the plant occurring in a natural plant community away from human habitation and travel corridors with native associated species or was it growing in a disturbed situation with non-native or weedy associates? Comments such as these will greatly help us determine whether or not your observation came from a native population or if it arrived at the site through deliberate or inadvertent human transport.
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