iSpot Obs: Plants

How to make a good iSpot Observation: Plants


Very much the same as for trees: take a selection of photos, not just one, and try to get the following:

Overall: this gives an idea of the scale of your plant, and also shows what's growing around it.

The flower: the main characteristic for iSpotters. Try to get a close-up of an individual flower, from underneath, from above, and from behind as well as the usual face-on portrait. Sometimes we need to see the sepals, at the back of the flower, to make the ID.

The leaves: and there are often two types of leaf, stem leaves - partway up the stem, as the name suggests - and basal leaves, in a low clump at the base of the plant.

In your description, it can be helpful to add notes about the habitat, so make a note of where you found it, and whether it was dry or boggy, chalky, sandy, open heathland, deep woodland, or whatever it was.

Taking a little extra trouble with your Observation has two benefits - firstly you are more likely to get someone to add an ID or agree with yours, and secondly, the more you look at plants, the more you will start to recognise these features.

So if you put up an Observation and someone adds a Comment asking about a feature you don't know: for example, "were the sepals reflexed?" and you don't know what this means, look it up, and you will learn.

Oh, come on, don't be lazy, you are by definition accessing the internet so use google: type in, in quotes "reflexed sepals" and read a few descriptions - then click on Images and look! Lots of buttercups with reflexed sepals!