Citizen Science: Recording Blooming Times in the Park

This project focuses on documenting the blooming periods of shrubs and forbs (non-woody species) from year to year, primarily to provide information on what’s in bloom for park users but also to look for trends over time. It’s easy and super fun, and there is no specific, minimum time commitment - join us!

Fireweed

Large-leaved avens

Nootka rose

Ocean spray

How Do I Use iNaturalist for this Project?

  1. iNaturalist is a free app for your phone that can be downloaded from an app store. You will need to set up an account, if you don’t already have one.

  2. To join the project, you will need to email us at citizensciencebridletrails@gmail.com with the iNaturalist username you wish us to use for the project.

  3. Once we add you to the project, any observations of flowering plants that you make that meet the criteria for the study will automatically be included in the project and can be seen on the iNaturalist project page.

Project Criteria:

  • The observation must be made within the park

  • Any flowering shrub or non-woody plant (native or introduced)

  • includes photo of flower or flowers

 

Photo credits: Jim Erckmann

 

Reference links (field guides and websites on plants):

Field Guides. There are many good guides to flowering plants that cover our area. Here are several:

Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. 2004 (revised edition). Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon. Partners Publishing. A very popular and highly regarded guide with color photos of many native species.

Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest. 2006. Mark Turner and Phyllis Gustafson. Timber Press. Covers many native wildflowers in our region, illustrated with color photographs. Does not include shrubs.

Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest. 2014. Mark Turner and Ellen Kuhlman. Covers common native shrubs, illustrated with color photos.

Manuals

Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual. 2018 (2nd, Edition, completely revised). C. Leo Hitchock and Arthur Cronquist. (Revised edition has multiple authors). University of Washington Press. Comprehensive and technical manual used by botanists, with pen and ink illustrations for many species.

Websites

Washington Native Plant Society: https://www.wnps.org/plant-lists  Has plant lists for many areas, and a photo gallery covering many native species.

Bridle Trails Park Foundation: Gallery 1 — Bridle Trails Park Foundation Has information on many plant species in the park, native and introduced, along with a list of species observed.

Burke Museum Herbarium:   https://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/ Comprehensive resource with both native and introduced species, with photos, an identification key, and records of observations. You can browse by taxonomic group or species name or search the database.