NPDC News
01/01/2008 – PLANTS Major Data Update Completed
National Plant Data Center staff completed a significant review of PLANTS names and relationships, and made tens of thousands of revisions and additions. We appreciate the help of several expert taxonomists in this work, none more than Dr. Kanchi Gandhi (International Plant Names Index) and Dr. John Wiersema (USDA ARS Germplasm Resources Information Network). Chief among these improvements, we:
- Corrected hundreds of cryptic scientific name misspellings, and evaluated orthographic variants to ensure the correct variant was accepted under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature rules.
- Corrected thousands of scientific name authorities, and made upwards of 30,000 revisions to author abbreviations in accordance with the international standard, Authors of Plant Names (APN). Currently, most individual author names that occur more than six times in the PLANTS database of almost 91,000 records have been evaluated and converted to the APN standard. This work will continue as time allows. We also looked carefully at Latin basionyms and basionym epithets to be sure that authors were being used consistently among these related names.
- Ran dozens of internal consistency and data integrity checks involving—among other things—assignment of synonyms and use of formal Latin emendations.
- Identified and populated data gaps wherever possible.
01/01/2008 – PLANTS Includes Canada to Extend North American Coverage
We are pleased to announce that through the generosity of Dr. Luc Brouillet (Université de Montréal) and his Canadian colleagues, we added thousands of missing Canadian taxa with their attributes and distribution, and thereby restored the integrity of PLANTS data for North America north of Mexico. Included are the French territory of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the Danish province of Greenland, the largest island in the world. This phytogeographic unification will make it easier for floristic and monographic workers to use PLANTS, since taxonomic groups are now complete for temperate North America, and important northern areas are fully represented. Collaboration and coordination with the Flora of North America project will be enhanced. NRCS field staff and other agency managers will have a fuller appreciation of many important conservation plants.
Please note that integration of this Canadian data set was difficult because of unavoidable taxonomic conflicts, so undoubtedly some mistakes remain. Please bear with us as we identify and correct them, and Contact Us if you see problems.
01/01/2008 – PLANTS Native Status Data Completely Revised and Expanded
We improved information about plant native status by breaking the PLANTS Floristic Area or PFA (which is North America, and all U.S. territories and protectorates) into regional jurisdictions, each of which now has its own Native Status value. We also evaluated and corrected many data points, and filled in all but a few values that remain blank for problematic species and places. This improvement is significant because the PFA is so vast that many plants are native in some parts and introduced in others; we are now better able to illustrate this phenomenon and provide more accurate information. For example, many North American natives are troublesome Hawaiian weeds, and previously these plants were given the same nativity value. The new Native Status jurisdictions are:
|
L48 |
Lower 48 States |
|
AK |
Alaska |
|
HI |
Hawaii |
|
PR |
Puerto Rico |
|
VI |
U.S. Virgin Islands |
|
CAN |
Canada |
|
GL |
Greenland (Denmark) |
|
SPM |
St. Pierre and Miquelon (France) |
|
NA |
North America (non-vascular Native Status is at this level only) |
01/01/2008 – Alaska County-level Distribution Added to PLANTS
With the help of Dr. Alan Batten (University of Alaska – Fairbanks Herbarium), we added plant specimen documentation for Alaska boroughs that totaled about 90,000 records. PLANTS now lacks county distribution for only one state, Maryland.
01/01/2008 – PLANTS Downloads Enhanced
We improved the data structure for all the PLANTS downloads so that the information is easier to use and import, and we placed a new download link on every results page so query results are readily available in tabular form.
01/01/2008 – PLANTS Identification - New Gymnosperm Key and Grass Keys for All 50 States!
New interactive keys are now available for all U.S. gymnosperm species and all grass (Poaceae) species in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These complement our widely-used U.S. wetland monocots keys.
All are freely available for use online, or for downloading for use with or without a web connection. In addition to dramatically optimizing the identification process, these keys are very rich sources of descriptive data. For example, nearly 300 character states are recorded for every species of grass. These key data are free and can be used in other applications. Each species in the key also directly links to the appropriate profile page on PLANTS, which includes images, common names, distribution maps, synonyms, wetland indicator status, native status, wildlife habitat values, and other useful information.
Monocot data were developed cooperatively by the Missouri Botanical Garden and the USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, and were compiled from numerous sources by Dr. David Bogler. The gymnosperm data were developed cooperatively by Oregon State University and compiled from several sources by Stephen C. Meyers and collaborators.
11/01/2007 – New Species Added to PLANTS Characteristics and VegSpec
We added 182 new species, most from Alaska and Puerto Rico, to this important data set of expanded ecological characteristics. This brings to 2185 the total number of species covered, plus an additional 398 cultivars, for a total of 2583 plants. In additional to query-driven access you can also choose from the entire list, or access this information through our stalwart Advanced Search.
11/01/2007 – Traditional Ecological Knowledge Technical Note No. 2
Released
Technical Note TN.190.PM.2 entitled “Indigenous Uses, Management, and
Restoration of Oaks in the Far Western United States” is now available.
For more than 9,000 years before the arrival of Europeans, native
peoples in the West led lives enmeshed with the oaks that surrounded
them. Oaks and hands interacted in myriad ways as people went about
their daily routines of gathering, tending, and preparing oak parts:
acorns, bark, leaves, and branches. Oaks were important to human
cultures for countless purposes in addition to food, including basketry,
regalia, household utensils, structures, tools, and weapons. This
Technical Note is
also available through the NRCS eDirectives system
under Technical Notes – Title 190 Ecological Sciences – Plant Materials.
11/03/2006 - PLANTS Identification-Wetland Monocots Key Data
Available for Testing
A draft key for U.S.
wetland monocots is available for testing on-line or by downloading the
application. This automated plant key lets you identify the monocots known
to occur in wetlands using multiple plant characters simultaneously.
7/12/ 2006 - Image Gallery Remodel
The PLANTS Image Gallery
has been redesigned and enhanced. Search the Gallery by Artist, Image
Location, State Distribution, Copyright Status, and more! Improved View and
Sort options let you look at 15, 25, 50, or 100 thumbnail images per page.
Best of all, synonym names are searched, too. Try Aster or Scirpus
to see how this works.
7/12/ 2006 - Web Site Modernization Update
In addition to the remodeled Gallery, we have updated
Invasive and Noxious
Weeds to the USDA standard.
3/7/ 2006 - Major Data Update
PLANTS had added 8000 new names representing 4500 new accepted taxa and
3500 new synonyms. Many of these are vascular plants of the U.S., and most
of the rest are agriculturally important. The U.S. vascular flora has been
completely revised with updated nomenclature, plant distribution, growth
habit, duration, and U.S. nativity. PLANTS now has county distribution data
for 48 states! We appreciate the help of the Biota of North America Program
in this endeavor. To the best of our knowledge all legal status data are
also current, including noxious weed status, threatened and endangered
lists, and wetland indicator status.
Please let us know otherwise.
3/7/2006 - 30,000+ Images Now at PLANTS
Due to the generosity of many donors, PLANTS now contains over 30,000
plant photographs and line drawings. Thank you! We can always use more
pictures, so please contact PLANTS if you have image sets to contribute.
12/19/05 Web Site Modernization
We are modernizing PLANTS to fit the new USDA Web standard, which is part
of a broader USDA regulation called
Web
Site Development and Maintenance. This initiative is designed to ensure
a standard, consistent, “look and feel” for all USDA Web sites
and Web-based applications, while encouraging innovation and minimizing constraints
on agencies’ Web-based presentations. A consistent appearance and logic
to all USDA Web pages makes it easier to find information quickly and reduces
confusion. This new USDA Web standard is set forth in the USDA Web Style Guide,
a precise document that governs layout, appearance, accessibility, and usability
guidelines, among other things. To date the PLANTS home page, Name Search results
page, State Search, Classification Report, Threatened & Endangered, and
PLANTS Profiles have been updated, with the rest to follow.
4/27/2005 - Advanced Search
Replaces Advanced Query
We renamed our flexible query engine
Advanced
Search, and placed it on the banner below the PLANTS NameSearch so that
it is more visible and is available from all PLANTS pages.
3/31/2005
- New Images at PLANTS
Seed Photos - The National Plant Data Center (NPDC) integrated about 850
new photographs of seeds from the U.S. National Seed Herbarium into PLANTS.
This is only a portion of nearly 8,000 that eventually will be posted. The
seeds are being photographed by Steve Hurst in collaboration with the
USDA
Agricultural Research Service Systematic Botany and Mycology Lab. To see
a sample of Steve’s fine work, view the profiles for any of the following:
Picea
glauca (PIGL),
Fritillaria
camschatcensis (FRCA5), or
Rhus
aromatica (RHAR4).
Moss photos -
Michael
Lüth provided 2265 excellent new moss photos that cover 603 species
of our moss flora. To see a sample, view the profiles for any of the following:
Polytrichum
pallidisetum (POPA29 ),
Racomitrium
canescens ( RACA11), or
Pohlia
obtusifolia (POOB6). You can see the entire list by using the
Advanced
Search: select “Moss” under 2. Taxonomy: Category, and select “Only
with images” in 5. Additional Information in PLANTS: Image Gallery.
These are the first bryophyte images available at PLANTS, and we would like
to expand this coverage. If you can help, please contact the
NPDC.
3/31/2005
- New Thumbnail Distribution Map Icons Provide Legal Status
We added legal status icons to the thumbnail distribution maps on each profile.
Now you can see at a glance if taxa are listed as noxious or endangered or
have wetland status, and can use this information in conjunction with existing
indicators for image availability and U.S. Nativity. At a glance you know if
it’s a weedy wetland plant, an endangered upland plant, or an exotic
but harmless plant that we have a picture for. Try
Solidago (SOLID)
or Viburnum (VIBUR)
to see how it works.
3/31/2005
- New Plants Added to Characteristics Data and Vegspec
We have added 45 plants chosen for their usefulness in riparian conservation
to VegSpec and the Characteristics section of PLANTS. For examples at PLANTS
see Annona
glabra (ANGL4),
Cyrilla
racemiflora (CYRA),
Halesia
diptera (HADI3), or
Symplocos
tinctoria (SYTI). This information was developed and verified by John
McCoy of the
USGS
National Wetlands Research Center . Also, a Riparian Buffer practice has
been added to VegSpec.
3/31/2005 - Traditional
Ecological Knowledge Technical Note Released
The National Plant Data Center ethnobotany
office recently released a technical note called
Traditional
Ecological Knowledge: An Important Facet in Natural Resources Conservation
(PDF 2.5Mb) . This publication, the first in a series, highlights the traditional
ecological knowledge acquired by indigenous and local peoples over hundreds
of years through direct experience and contact with the environment. The publication
uses examples from California to provide step-by-step guidance on how to explore
our rich human past to reconstruct historic land use and management practices
in different landscapes. Land managers and restorationists are discovering
that ancient cultural practices—burning, pruning, thinning, and weeding
of native plants—are not passé. These techniques apply directly
to the restoration and management of our natural resources and biodiversity
today.
10/13/04 -
Legal Status Extended to Related Taxa
We have achieved a first by extending legal status to related taxa
at our Plant Profiles. A hierarchical plant classification dictates
that status applied at one taxonomic level often applies automatically
to another, yet this relationship is usually ignored when presenting
legal status information. For example, the binomial
Chorizanthe
robusta is listed as federally endangered, and that means
that any of its varieties or subspecies also share endangered status.
We now display this reality by extending endangered status to the two
varieties (
robusta and
hartwegii )
that make up that binomial. Likewise, the entire Bermudagrass genus
Cynodon is
listed as a noxious weed in California, and now if you visit the profiles
for any Bermudagrass species, e.g.,
Cynodon
dactylon , you
will see that even though not listed per se, it is considered
noxious in California by virtue of the generic listing. We also have
extended legal status from synonyms up through intervening infraspecific
taxa, so that if a synonym of a subspecies is listed we now show that
status at the accepted binomial profile (see, for example,Viburnum
opulus ). While this binomial is not specifically
listed, its native variety (var.
americana)
is protected in two states, as is the variety’s synonym Viburnum
trilobum in Pennsylvania.
The practical benefit is that you can visit any plant profile and
grasp immediately the complex and nuanced protections and prohibitions
for that plant without having to ferret out this information by checking
related taxa and synonyms. This system also streamlines data management
since we can maintain status lists exactly as they exist legally, and
extend legal status appropriately to related taxa by careful programming.
We thank the NRCS Information
Technology Center for that!
Please note that the legal status lists that are available from modules
such as Wetlands, T&E, and Invasive and Noxious occur exactly as
they were published; we have extended their status to relatives only
at the Plant Profiles.
4/12/2004 - Introduced Plants & Images Now Highlighted for Better
Navigation
We added an image availability icon to the thumbnail distribution maps on
each profile, and changed the thumbnail map color to gray for introduced taxa.
Now you can more easily compare plants since you can see at a glance if
there’s an image to view that might help confirm a potential identification.
You can also quickly grasp the prevalence of introduced taxa in each genus,
and the U.S. regions where they are concentrated.
3/1/2004 - State Noxious Weed Data Completely Revised
We have carefully canvassed available information on state-designated
noxious weeds and completely overhauled our data. We now have the most
accurate information about U.S. regulated noxious weeds available anywhere (at
least for the next week or two!). There has been a recent upsurge in awareness
about the invasive species crisis in the United States, and many more
jurisdictions have passed laws regulating noxious weeds. Furthermore, the
lists are being modified so quickly that it is difficult to stay abreast of
changes. If you notice that some of this information is out of date, please
contact our botanist or the
webmaster.
1/1/2004 - Advanced Query Revised and Expanded
The
Advanced Search, our potent search engine, just got even better. We added a
number of new fields including PLANTS Invasive status, State T/E (threatened
and endangered) Status, and ITIS TSN (Integrated Taxonomic Information System
taxonomic serial number). We divided images into line drawings and photographs
so that each may be searched separately. We added the ability to enter
multiple symbols in the symbol field so that you can now display an
idiosyncratic list that has no search commonality, such as your five favorite
tree species or the ten worst exotic plants in your area. And we fixed some
minor problems with the field order in the download and corrected errors in
the search engine programming, particularly those associated with searches
employing scientific name ranks and author ranks.
5/22/2003 - Plant Materials Publications Fully Searchable
We have added a new module,
Plant Materials Publications. Like
Plant Guides and
Fact Sheets, this is another successful collaboration between the National Plant
Data Center and Plant Materials. PM Pubs allows bibliographic searches of many
of the publications produced by Plant Materials Centers and Plant Materials
Specialists. These publications deal with the selection, establishment, growth,
management, and uses of the hundreds of plants—especially NRCS Improved
Conservation Releases—that NRCS uses for land conservation activities. About 400
publications are now searchable, and we expect this number to grow quickly.
4/22/03 - Thousands of New Photos Added to the
PLANTS Image Gallery
The PLANTS Image Gallery has been improved by the addition of
thousands of new images. For the first time line drawings as well as photographs
are included in the Gallery. In addition, for select images, large and publication
quality images are also available to view and download.
8/15/2002 - T&E Module Improved, Now With
State Status
The PLANTS T&E
module now provides access to state as well as federally protected plants,
and in a new flexible search format. Now you can view any of the following
kinds of T&E plant lists, each with names linked to plant profiles:
- The federal list
- The federal list for one or more states
- A state list
- A state list for multiple states
- A federal and state combination list
We also provide links to state and federal resource agencies
with more information about laws and protection efforts. Use the new module
to learn more about our endangered flora or help with your conservation planning
and research.
7/15/2002 - Distribution Update Module Unveiled
The Distribution
Update Module allows you, our users, to become direct participants in
the PLANTS database by sharing information about where plants grow in the
U.S. Now you can report a population or observation of plants at just the
county level, or more precisely using a Geographical Information System (GIS),
Latitude/Longitude measurements, or Township Range & Section coordinates.
Reports can be documented by voucher specimens, the literature, or personal
observations. The new automated system saves your personal information so
you can provide frequent updates if you like, and also requests information
that allows us to better evaluate each update. You can also upload photos
or drawings that aid or confirm your identification. Each submission is examined
(validated) by us and other floristic botanists before being added to PLANTS.
The Distribution Update was designed partly to provide a fast
way to incorporate new information about invasive and weedy plants since their
distributions often change quite quickly. We hope this new module will be
especially useful for state noxious weed coordinators and other invasive plant
specialists.
5/1/2002 - Two improvements were made to the
Plant Profile
Thumbnail maps. We have vertically integrated each Plant Profile
with thumbnail distribution maps for subordinate taxa, and clickable links
for higher-ranking groups. This lets you move easily between the profiles
for closely related plants and compare their attributes, and the thumbnail
distribution maps help you narrow the possibilities geographically and also
provide a quick phytogeographical understanding of each group. Each genus
now displays a thumbnail distribution map of all species within that genus,
and a link to other genera in that plant family. Each species shows thumbnail
maps for its subspecies or varieties, and links to genus and family. Clicking
on a thumbnail map will take you directly to the Plant Profile for that plant.
You can also right-click on a thumbnail to save it on your computer, then
use it in documents. The updated Plant Profile also provides quick access
to all images of the relevant genus that are in the Gallery. We also added
the Classification hierarchy to each Profile for easy reference, and softened
the color scheme of the distribution maps. Check out the Plant
of the Week to see these new features.
Printer-Friendly Version of Plant Profiles. Click on the "Printer-Friendly
Version" link in the lower part of the top box of each Plant Profile to open
a new browser window with a condensed version of the profile. This version
reduces white space and removes links and other information that aren't relevant
in a printed document. Try it with the Plant
of the Week!
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