Who can contribute observations?
Anyone with a current Calflora account, and who can reliably identify the plants they are observing.
Can
I contribute observations anonymously?
No. Calflora is an online library of plant information. All information
must have a source to be listed in references.
Where
do my observations go?
Observations are converted into appropriate formats and stored in
a database. Additional copies of your
observation may be forwarded to appropriate individuals and agencies
responsible for managing particular areas, projects, or plant groups.
For example, observations of rare plants may be forwarded to the
California Department of Fish and Game as well as the Rare Plant
Program of the California Native Plant society.
Who
reviews incoming reports?
Incoming observations are reviewed by Calflora staff to ensure no
gross error; however, correctness of identification is NOT reviewed.
The reliability of the observation is entirely the responsibility
of the contributor. We are building an annotation system to allow
for expert input and review of observations.
Please contact us
if you are interested in contributing your knowledge, or helping to test this system.
How
do I register to contribute Plant Observations?
First, register as a Calflora user
(here),
then, as a Calflora contributor
(here).
The contributor registration form asks for
certain information about your background and
experience with plants.
Once you have completed the contributor registration process,
you may contribute observations.
How do I change my personal profile?
You may update your profile at any time.
Click here
to update your profile.
Didn't
I already register to contribute information to CalPhotos?
Because CalPhotos is a separate organization,
you need to register separately
with Calflora.
How do I contribute a plant observation?
Once you have registered as a Calflora contributor
(here),
you may contribute observations
using the Observation Entry application.
Click
here to
bring up this application.
Information in green is required to make a valid
observation.
NB: If you would like to contribute a large collection of observations
in a format such as a spreadsheet, database,
or MS Word document,
Calflora staff would be happy to work with you directly
( contact).
How does the new Observation Entry application work?
Bring up the Observation Entry application here.
For an explanation of any field, click on the name of that field.
To choose a plant, go to the Scientific Name field,
and type the first three letters. A typeahead name finder is anabled
for over 30,000 California plant names. Choose your plant from
the list of matching plant names that appears below the field.
A typeahead name finder is also enabled for common name.
Choose a location on the map.
The map starts outside Fresno. Click on the map
to get close to the area of your observation, then zoom
in to pick a precise point.
Change from "Terrain" view
(upper right) to "Map" view in order to see additional street names.
If you change to the "Hybrid" or "Satellite" view, you may be able
to identify certain trees, rock formations, or buildings
to help find your exact location.
Below the map on the left side is a button called
"Map Features." Press this button to open the Map Features
panel. To see local parks and open space areas on the map,
select the OPEN SPACE theme.
You can see the name of an open space area by rolling
the mouse over a white dot in the center of the area.
Click on the dot for more information about the area.
When you have described your observation as completely
as possible,
press the SAVE button. Your observation will
be immediately available to other Calflora users.
How can I see other observations of the same plant in the general
area of my observation?
-
Bring up the Observation Entry application here.
-
Enter / choose the name of the plant.
-
Move the map to the general area, and zoom in appropriately.
-
Press the Show Observations button (lower left of the map).
-
In the Show Observations panel, uncheck your name,
check the name of the plant, check "in map area", and press Search.
If no records are found, zoom out a bit and try again.
-
To see information about a particular record, click on
(native)
or
(non-native)
on the map, and an information window will appear.
For instance, suppose you are interested in
Baccharis pilularis in the Santa Cruz area.
Press the Show Observations button
and the Show Observations panel opens up.
Uncheck your name.
Check "in map area," and "of Baccharis pilularis".
Press the Search button.
The relevant observations appear in a table
and on the map as triangular markers
.
Roll the mouse over one of these markers to see
the record number and scientific name. Click on the
marker to bring up an information window about the record,
including a photo if available. Click
view this observation
inside the information window to see the complete record.
How do I contribute a checklist of observations?
Bring up the Checklist Entry application here.
This application is very similar to the Observation Entry
application.
To add plants, press the
Plant List button, and
enter plants one by one using the typeahead name finder
for either scientific or common names.
Or, if you already have plant names in another document,
you can copy and paste the names directly into this application --
the analyzer will report back which names it was unable to find,
if any (see below).
Can I add photographs to my observations?
Yes! Calflora is not currently set up to store
photographs, but if you have put photos of the plant you
observed somewhere stable on the web,
then you can associate the URL of those photos
with an observation record. To do so, press the Photos
button, and enter
- URL: the web address of your photo.
This could be a on your own website, or on a public
photo service like CalPhotos, Flickr, or Picasa.
Note that if your photos are on CalPhotos,
it is only necessary to enter the CalPhotos ID
(a number like 0000 0000 0000 0000).
- Credit: the year the photo was taken,
and the name of the photographer. If you are not the
photographer, please get permission from the photographer
before adding the photo.
- Caption: an explanation of the photo.
The presumption is that the photo was actually
taken at the location described in the observation.
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Photos associated with an observation can be viewed on
the Calflora Observation Detail page.
For example, here is the Observation Detail page
showing an
observation of Sidalcea malviflora
from the trail east from Shell Beach, Sonoma County coast.
(Press the green Photos
link to see photos.)
The photo on the right is associated with this observation record
on Calflora, and is stored on Flickr.
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Sidalcea malviflora © 2009 J Malpas
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I
made a mistake entering an observation, how do I correct it?
To edit an observation you have already entered, first
bring up the application here.
Press the Show Observations button (lower left of the map).
In the Show Observations panel, check your name, uncheck
"in map area," and press the Search button.
A table of your recently entered observations should appear.
Find the observation of interest, and press the "view"
link in front of it. When the observation appears,
press "Edit this observation" (next to
that SAVE button.)
If necessary, you may also delete an observation you have contributed.
(If you have any questions, please
contact Calflora staff.)
Is there a special application
for entering weed observations?
What
observations are most useful?
There are many different kinds of useful observations, depending
on what goals you are trying to achieve.
- Documenting species
not previously known from a county or area.
- Documenting new weeds
to an area, especially invasive weeds targeted for early removal.
- Further documenting
plants previously predicted or reported to occur in an area, but
that currently lack expert documentation or specimens.
- Confirming the continuing
presence of plants not observed in the last 25 years in a county/area.
- Filling in distribution
'holes' for species. For example, California poppy is presumed
to grow in every county of California, however there are still
several counties that have no documented or voucher based records
available.
California Department
of Fish and Game maintains negative observation data for rare plants.
Please contact them to report negative search results for rare plants.
I
want to contribute a large set of observations.
If you would like to contribute a large set of observations,
Calflora staff would be happy to work with you directly
(contact).
Why
can't the system find my species name?
The intention of Calflora is to track plants occurring in the
wild in California, either native or naturalized. Thus, many
horticultural plants are not present in the database.
Also, scientific names of plants do change occasionally.
Calflora attempts to keep track of these changes in the
Plant Name Library (aka synonymy database).
Thus, it should not matter
if you enter a scientific name no longer in current use --
Calflora users should be able to find your observation
via synonomy options available on the Calflora search pages.
If you plan to enter a list of names, and would like a preview
of which names the contribution system will accept,
enter your list into the
CNPLX Nomenclature Analyzer. (This is also a good way to
find spelling errors.)
Why
are repeat observations for the same plant in the same area useful?
Repeat observations of plants that have not been seen in 5 years
or more are a valuable way to reconfirm the continued health and persistence
of the local population. Observations by different observers,
on subsequent dates, or with additional details are most useful.
I
encountered an error or unexpected result while contributing --
what do I do?
We encourage you to contact us with any problems, questions, or
suggestions on the system so that we may improve it for your use.
Please be prepared with the following information, if possible.
What browser and version are you using?
Why kind of computer and operating system?
What did you do immediately prior to the problem?
Please include
your name, email, and the date of contribution if possible.
How
can I identify plants?
We ask that you only contribute observations for plants that you can
comfortably and confidently identify.
Identifying plants is
a lot like reading books... there are some books that are easy to
read, and some that are hard. Likewise some plants are easy to identify,
and some are more difficult. You generally get better at reading
by tackling progressively harder books, expanding your vocabulary
and learning as you go.
Calflora has a tiny
staff that is committed to helping you learn more about plants,
but unfortunately we do not have the resources to identify plants.
There are many other resources available to help
expand the number of plants you recognize. If your plant was growing
in the wild, you can try contacting your local chapter of the California
Native Plant Society, Botanical
Garden, or herbarium (to find your local California herbarium,
search Index
Herbariorum, and use "California" for state).
You can also try joining the California
Native Plant Discussion Group administered by Greg
McCann.
Also, the people who work at native nurseries can
be very helpful in identifying local plants.
If your plant was NOT growing in the wild, you should
try asking at your local plant nurseries or Botanical Garden.The
UC Davis Herbarium
also offers plant
identification services to the public for a fee.
How
can I confirm tricky plant identifications?
We encourage you to obtain permission to collect a specimen of the
plant in question, and share that specimen with experts in that
plant group.
What
information do you need for observations?
The most basic information that is needed is
- Who:
Which person(s) made the observation and identification?
- What:
What is the scientific name of the plant?
- When:
When was the observation made?
- Where:
Where was the plant observed?
I've
observed a plant that I think needs some attention, who do I talk
to?
Rare/Endangered/Threatened
Plants:
Weeds, Invasives,
or other Pest Plants
When will my observation
show up on the maps? (For instance, a new county record
for a species.)
Your observation report will be added to the observations
database as soon as you save it.
It will be reflected immediately in a
Search for Plant Observations
for the relevant species, and will show up
as a point on the map shown
in the
Calflora Map Viewer and
What Grows Here?
applications.
How
do I find out the Latitude, Longitude, or UTM
for the location I was at?
The new Observation Entry page has an embedded Google Map.
If you can find where you were when you saw the plant
on this map, just use that location.
On the other hand,
if you used a portable GPS unit when you made the observation, you can enter
the coordinates of your observation as either
latitude / longitude or as UTM.
What
is 'datum', and why do I need to be aware of it?
A 'datum' is a frame of reference when plotting locations on a globe.
Just as "Hollywood" can be "Hollywood, California"
or "Hollywood, Florida", Latitude / Longitude and UTM can
be in "NAD 1927" or "NAD 1983". Properly defined,
NAD 27 is North American Datum of 1927. A reference point datum
based on the Clarke Ellipsoid of 1866, a fixed position and orientation
were named starting at Meade's Ranch in Kansas. Based upon this
information latitudes and longitudes were calculated for all points
based primarily on triangulation. NAD 1983 is a datum based on the
GRS 80 Ellipsoid, and fixed position and orientation at the center
of the earth. The measurements used in NAD 27 were adjusted- this
time using a computer. This results in a different latitude and
longitude for a location when compared to its NAD 27 values, with
the difference often amounting to hundreds of feet.
Most quality maps with
latitude, longitude, or UTM measurements on them also display which
datum was used. For example, most USGS Maps display the datum in
the lower left hand corner, along with what projection they used
(Projections are methods to display features of the round earth
on flat paper with minimum distortion.)
Most older USGS
maps are NAD 27. Many newer maps and most GPS unit readings are
NAD 83. Using the wrong datum
can cause your location to be off as much as 100 meters (325 feet).
If your precision is much less than this, then choosing the correct
datum is less critical.
Why are georeferenced locations useful?
While people can read text descriptions of locations, computers
can not. For instance, if you were in Berkeley, you may decide to
describe a plant location as 1/2 block east of Third street, while
another person describes it as 1/2 block west of Fourth street.
And a third person searching for plants in "West Berkeley"
may find nothing.
On the other hand, when
you provide Latitude, Longitude (LL), Universal Transverse Mercator(UTM),
or Meridian, Township, Range and Section (MTRS), our computer can
pinpoint your location and perform interesting and complex searches.
Your observation will also appear on maps generated by the
Calflora Map viewer.
In order to make best
use of your observations, we strongly recommend that you spend a
few minutes choosing an accurate georeferenced location.
Should
I give an imprecise locations for rare plants I observe?
Since Calflora is a library, we leave it up to the contributing
author- you- to decide what level of precision you want to share.
Some people feel that information increases the vulnerability of
rare plants to vandalism or poaching; others feel that the only
way to protect these species is to know exactly where they are to
protect them and educate the public about them.
You have a wide
range of choice in reporting locations. Mt. Hamilton in Alameda
County is acceptable, but less precise than Marin County, Lazy Creek
Road, 2.1 miles south of the intersection with Peralta Avenue. Under
canopy of lone valley oak. And stating that a location is
at Lat/Long 39.75, -121.75 with a precision "plus or minus1
mile", is less precise than stating the location is at
39.75213441, -121.75042231 with a precision of "plus or minus
1 meter".
We reserve the right to 'fuzz' locations for certain
species determined to be especially vulnerable upon scientific review
by committee.
Fuzzing entails making the location deliberately imprecise.
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