August for Africa

• 50% of IDs across iNat come from just 545 identifiers!

I live and was born in Cape Town. Way down South in Africa. When I 'joined the 500' and started IDing it was for my familiar fynbos on the Cape Peninsula.

Then someone suggested broadening your focus, and I realised that while Peninsula plants have a dedicated team that clears them promptly. Step away from the university towns of Stellenbosch and Cape Town, and we need identifiers. There I can't keep up.

@bobmcd built the Low Growth Countries project. Filtered for his African countries (so excluding South Africa), and I was well and truly hooked.

@lotteryd set up Mission Impossible - August for Africa - help to ID our plants on the iNat Forum.
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/mission-impossible-identify-plantae-in-africa/43528

I often see iNatters say - but, I don't know African plants.

You can help us with cultivated plants - this arboretum tree with weird leaves comes from Australia. Melaleuca styphelioides. If you are an iNat taxon specialist, I will @mention you for help (but first must be good clear pictures worth claiming a few minutes from you, and second not too often)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/176251464

What we need, is to move plants to a finer taxon level. Edging them from Unknown or broad planty taxa into the filters of taxon specialists - Acanthaceae @iain_derbyshire

I look at the next 30. That one, looks like Scabiosa gone to seed. My iNat bestie Computer vision suggests ... Don't know that, but I can find the common taxon level. Then. We wait.

We have a Mission Impossible project for interesting or difficult obs covering Africa from North to Sub-Antarctic South, from West (St Helena) to East.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mission-impossible-identify-plantae-in-africa

Journal posts for stats nerds at Flora of Africa.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/flora-of-africa/journal

Since my focus is the problem children, I was startled that we start at 50% RG. The easy half, the low hanging fruit is picked. Some via the Pre-Maverick project. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pre-maverick

FYI and apologies for extra notifications in August.
Thank you for each African plant moved to a finer ID.

19 July---- 100K IDs (mostly Africa)
4 August 101K
13 August 102K

Posted on August 3, 2023 02:52 PM by dianastuder