Illinois Botanists Big Year Homepage
And the winner is…
…it’s close! Our top two competitors by number of plant species observed in Illinois in a single year are:
Derek Ziomber (@dziomber) with 1,149 species
and
Jared Gorrell (@wildlandblogger) with 1,136 species
As of 26 January 2019, Derek had made 1,672 “research grade” (RG) observations of 1,149 species and Jared had made 4,202 RG observations of 1,136 plant species. Congrats to you both! This year was a close race between our top two botanists and a bit nerve-wracking near the end as the species list just kept growing and growing! The data on iNaturalist are continually changing as new IDs come in, so these are just a snapshot. They each have over 100 more species that just didn’t get confirmed.
Here they are in southern Illinois: Jared Gorrell (@wildlandblogger) on the left and Derek Ziomber (@dziomber) on the right. Thanks to Jeff Skrentny (@skrentnyjeff) for the photo. A phenomenal job by these two botanizers, both of whom broke 1000 research grade plant species for the first time in Illinois Botanists Big Year history, and who were actually numbers #13 and #14 by number of RG plant species observed worldwide. And that’s compared to people who live in mega biodiversity hotspots like South Africa and southern California.
2019 Illinois Botanists Big Year Stats
4,040 observers
58,000 research grade observations of plants
1,930 species
1,470 identifiers
Most Species
- @dziomber – 1,149
- @wildlandblogger – 1,136
- @sanguinaria33 – 881
- @sedge – 817
- @elfaulkner – 769
- @johnhboldt – 758
- @skrentnyjeff – 711
- @bouteloua – 527
- @kkucera – 489
- @missgreen – 372
Most Observations
- @wildlandblogger – 4,202
- @johnhboldt – 3,626
- @dziomber – 1,672
- @sanguinaria33 – 1,583
- @sedge – 1,416
- @bouteloua – 1,41
- @skrentnyjeff – 1,304
- @elfaulkner – 1,191
- @taco2000 – 1,044
- @kkucera – 878
The Sedgehead
Most species in the genus Carex:
@dziomber with 63 species and @sedge close behind with 62!
The Grassmaster
Most species within the family Poaceae:
@dziomber with 77 species!
The Sporophyte
Most species outside of flowering plants, Magnoliophyta):
@wildlandblogger with 71 species!
The 100 Club:
botanizers who made research grade observations of over 100 species of plants in Illinois in 2019: @andrewhipp @andrewstpaul @bouteloua @brdnrdr @brendanrattin @carolt-80 @conniecowan @d_coulter @dziomber @eattaway92 @elfaulkner @eriko @ewarden @geodude365 @grantfessler @ja5 @jackassgardener @jakeskee @jawinget @jenhugstrees @joelmc @johnhboldt @k2018lena @kennedy9094 @kkucera @matt167 @maureenclare @missgreen @mn2010 @naturalist_glenn @outdoorsie @owenkathriner @plantdruid @prairiehobbit @psweet @randyshonkwiler @redadmiral98 @rgraveolens @rin_nd @rtriveline @sanguinaria33 @sedge @skrentnyjeff @ssinn @stocksdale @taco2000 @tararat @timfelinski0251 @ty-sharrow @vvoelker @whimbrelbirder @wildernessbarbie @wildlandblogger @woodridgejeff
Most IDs
Most identifications for other people (Needs ID & Research Grade observations of plants in Illinois in 2019):
@mcaple with 9,040 IDs!
Followed up by @evan8 (8,317) and @wildlandblogger (7,325).
Most Improving IDs
That is the number of times they were first-to-ID a species that the community subsequently agreed with:
@mcaple again with 2,293!
Followed up by @bouteloua (902) and @prairiehobbit (783).
Species New to Illinois on iNat
Dozens of species new to iNat in Illinois this year. A few listed below:
- 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)
- Plants in Malpighiales (nance family and friends)
- Plants in Fagales (beech family and friends)
- All other (eu)dicots except the groups above
Nice Photos
Just three of my favorite photos from the year.
I posted lots more photos on our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/illinoisbotanistsbigyear/
and finally…
Don’t forget to join the 2020 project:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/illinois-botanists-big-year-2020
(click the Join button in the top right)
Thanks to all for sharing your plant explorations this year!
Happy botanizing in 2020!
—@bouteloua (cassi saari)
Previously…
Find the most plant species in Illinois in 2019 and rejoice in your victory!
In 2016, the Illinois Native Plant Society hosted the first annual Illinois Botanists Big Year. Anyone may participate, from professional botanist to plant identification novice, by uploading photographic proof of their plant sightings to an online database: iNaturalist. Through the website or mobile apps, botanical enthusiasts upload photos, a species identification, GPS location, date of sighting, and field notes. Since other iNaturalist users can help with identification, participants need not be plant experts and can learn quite a bit about plants just by snapping photos and engaging with the community.
How to join in the fun: Add your plant observations to the iNaturalist.org website or iPhone/Android app and it’ll automatically count toward the contest if it meets the rules below. Join the conversation on the Illinois Botanists Big Year Facebook group.
Rules
- Must be a plant (bryophytes and vascular plants – native and non-native species are accepted)
- Observation must be within Illinois
- Must be observed between the dates of January 1st, 2019 and December 31st, 2019 (and uploaded by January 15th, 2020)
- Observation must be “research grade.” That means it must be “wild/naturalized” and that you need a photo, date, location, and at least two people to agree on the species, to confirm the identification accuracy
Nature newbie? No worries – we will help identify any plants you see. Don’t have a smartphone? You can upload photos through the website without need for a smartphone. Just take a photo and upload it to iNaturalist.org and identify as best as you can, even if that’s just “plant.”
Winning Categories:
- Most Species
- Most Observations
- The Sedgehead (most species within Carex)
- The Grassmaster (most species within Poaceae)
- The Sporophyte (most species outside of flowering plants, Magnoliophyta)
Help others get to research grade by identifying or confirming their observations!
Resources:
- iNaturalist Getting Started guide
- iNaturalist FAQ page
- Video tutorials: Creating an iNaturalist account and adding an observation
- Illinois Botanists Big Year Facebook group
Illinois Botanists Big Year 2020
Illinois Botanists Big Year 2019
Illinois Botanists Big Year 2018
Illinois Botanists Big Year 2017
Illinois Botanists Big Year 2016