Florida Museum of Natural History Needs FNPS Help

Yes! What a conversation starter - "I helped create that app!" The Florida Museum of Natural History,  developing a cool new app right now, has asked FNPS for help. What they need is some specific photographs of Florida flowers, listed below. The app will be a plant ID tool that entry-level folks can use in the field.  However, since the program will eventually include more than 250 plants, there will definitely be something for all of us to learn from it!

The project manager, Shari Ellis, explained that this new app will be focused around plants that occur along the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, a network of approximately 500 sites covering 2,000 miles. The purpose of the app is to get people outside and help them understand and experience Florida's natural areas. "We want to help people identify flowering plants, butterflies, and birds without having to read long paragraphs of text."

Jaret Daniels educating guests about native plants

The program will help educate both Florida residents and visitors. There will not be extensive text with each flower, but there will be critical information on the wildlife that associate with each plant. There will be a "Did you know?" pop-up feature that will present important facts such as why the native milkweed are more beneficial. There will also be links to further information, such as buttterfly anatomy for further study as well as information on the facilities available at state parks along the trail. The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's Level One invasives will be there, too!

Wildflower planting at the Museum

The Museum is partnering on this project with the University of Florida's  Institute of Food, Agriculture and Science (IFAS)  and the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), using funding from  Florida Wildflower Foundation. Jaret Daniels and Betty Dunckel, from the Museum, and Anne Glick, from the FWC, the Principal Investigators, are planning to roll out the first version by end of summer. The initial version will be free. Later, if the program is becoming widely enough used, the Museum may offer an upgraded version for a small charge, with any proceeds being used for supporting the institutions.

The Museum will credit each picture with a watermark bearing the photographer's name. They request that you remove any watermark you might usually use, for the sake of uniformity: they want just one font and style used throughout the whole app. Also, photo entries should:

• use jpeg or tiff in the biggest file you can
• send as an attachment
• use vertical orientation if possible
• send to Shari, her email is sellis@ufl.edu

Shari says its fine to include an insect in the picture, as long as you can clearly see the flower. They may include up to four shots of the same plant, so you can also send shots of the leaves, pods, berries, and also the context; in other words, the area in which the plant is living. Here is a list of the plants they would like to have photos of; there are some easy ones, like rudbeckia, and some not-easy-ones, so something for everyone! The plants' commonly used name, or names, are listed first, followed by the Latin name in italics.

List of Photos Needed for Florida Museum of Natural History

1. Burrmarigold, Smooth Beggarsticks    Bidens laevis
2. Bushy Sea Oxeye    Borrichia frutescens
3. Long Key Locustbery    Byrsonima lucida
4. Coastal Searocket    Cakile lanceolata
5. Eastern Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-bush    Calycanthus floridus
6. Bayleaf Capertree, Limber Caper, Falseteeth    Capparis flexuosa
7. Baybean, Seaside Jackbean    Canavalia rosea
8. Bandanna-of-the-Everglades, Golden Canna    Canna flaccida
9. Hairy Chaffhead, Deertongue    Carphephorus paniculatus
10. New Jersey Tea, Redroot    Ceanothus americanus
11. White Fringetree, Old-Man's Beard    Chionanthus virginicus
12. Seagrape   Coccoloba uvifera
13. American Squareroot, Cancerroot    Conopholis americana
14. Oblongleaf Twinflower, Oblongleaf Snakeherb     Dyschoriste oblongifolia
15. Dogtongue, Wild Buckwheat, Sandhill Wild Buckwheat    Eriogonum tomentosum
16. Button Snakeroot, Rattlesnake Master, Button Eryngo    Eryngium yuccifolium
17. Marsh Gentien, Catchfly Praire    Eustoma exaltatum
18. Cottonweed, Plains Snakecotton    Froelichia floridana
19. Elliott's Milkpea    Galactia elliottii
20. Loblolly Bay    Gordonia lasianthus
21. Southern Beeblossom, Morning Honeysuckle    Gaura angustifolia
22. Pineweeds, Orangegrass    Hypericum gentianoides
23. Dahoon    Ilex cassine
24. Moonflower    Ipomoea alba
25. Carolina Redroot    Lachnanthes caroliana
26. Dense Gayfeather, Liatris, Blazing Star    Liatris spicata
27. Coral Honeysuckle, Trumpet Honeysuckle    Lonicera sempervirens
28. Southern Magnolia    Magnolia grandiflora
29. American White Waterlily    Nymphaea ordorata
30. Showy Milkwort    Polygala violacea
31. Common Guava, Apple Guava    Psidium guajava
32. Wild Coffee    Psychotria nervosa
33. Downy Rose Myrtle, Downy Myrtle, Hill Gooseberry, Hill Guava    Rhodomyrtus tomentosa
34. Swamp Rose     Rosa palustris
35. Blackeyed Susan, Browneyed Susan    Rudbeckia hirta
36. Beachberry, Inkberry, Gullfeed    Scaevola plumieri
37. Beach Naupaka, Half-flower    Scaevola sericea
38. Brazilian Pepper, Florida Holly, Christmas Berry, Pepper Tree    Schinus terebinthifolius
39. Danglepod, Tall Indigo, Coffee Bean, Pea Tree    Sesbania emerus
40. Narrow Blue-Eyed Grass    Sisyrinchium angustifolium
41. Yellow Necklacepod    Sophora tomentosa var. truncata
42. Indian Pink, Woodland Pinkroot, Wormgrass    Spigelia marilandica
43. Coastalplain Dawnflower    Stylisma patens
44. Small-leaf Spiderwort, Wandering Jew    Tradescantia fluminensis
45. Adam's Needles    Yucca filamentosa

Let's get out our cameras and have some fun helping the Museum this weekend!

sue dingwell