iNaturalist observations + sketchbooks
Asynchronous weekly assignment
Sketch different examples of plant families and learn their synapomorphies. Then make observations of four or more plants of the taxa covered during the week using iNaturalist.
Create your profile, email the instructor your username, and find the project here
Let's get started!
mosses, liverworts, hornworts
Sketchbook assignment 1b. Marchantiophyta. Marchantia sp. Is this a leafy or thalloid liverwort? Label the antheridiophore and the archegoniophore. What do these structures produce?
Sketchbook assignment 1b. Marchantiophyta. Lunalaria sp. Is this a leafy or thalloid liverwort? Label the gemma cups. What is the ploidy of this structure?
Sketchbook assignment 1b. Marchantiophyta. Jungermannia hyalina. Is this a leafy or thalloid liverwort?
Sketchbook assignment 1c. Anthocerotophyta. Anthoceros agrestis.
Label the sporophyte and gametophyte generations.
Read more about exciting research into hornworts here. What is one thing you learned from the article about the evolution of plants?
iNat Assignment 1: bryophytes
Now go outside and take photos of a bryophyte sensu lato and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to Order level as a bonus challenge.
Bonus point if you find two different types of bryophytes e.g., a hornwort and a liverwort.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
lycophytes
Lycophytes: spikemosses
Selaginellaceae: Selaginella willdenowii. Sketchbook assignment 2a: Sketch and google what the sporophylls look like.
Lycophytes: clubmosses
Lycopodiaceae: Spinulum annotinum. Sketchbook assignment 2b: Sketch and label the reproductive and vegetative parts. Are these leaves microphylls and megaphylls? How are these structures different?
Lycophytes: quillworts
Isoetaceae: Isoetes melanospora. Sketchbook assignment 2c: Sketch and label the reproductive and vegetative parts. Wikipedia "quillworts" and record in your sketchbook a couple facts that you find interesting.
Bonus: iNat Assignment 2
Now go outside and take photos of lycophyte and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Lycophytes can be hard to find, so might require a fieldtrip (and a search of iNaturalist to find out what species are in your area and where you can find them). Try and ID it to family level as a bonus challenge.
To you left is an artist's (Tim Bertelink) rendition of Lepidodendron, an extinct relative of quillworts and clubmosses that thrived during the Carboniferous 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya. While many lycophytes are very small now, these trees could reach up to 50 meters.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
ferns
iNat assignment 3: ferns
Now go outside and take photos of a leptosporangiate fern and a eusporangiate fern and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to family level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
Phylogeny from Shen et al., 2018.
keying exercise 1:
Watch the video below (featuring fern hero Paul Wolf) and review the important terminology of fern morphology. Now find the first fern around you and identify it to species using a dichotomous key. For California you can use the Jepson eFlora. For other places in the USA you can use the Flora of North America or a regional key. If you have a difficult time finding a key for your region online please contact the instructor. Once you have ID'ed your fern upload it to our iNaturalist project and copy the characteristics/descriptions you used at each step of the key.
gymnosperms
iNat Assignment 4: gymnos
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of Pinaceae (firs, pines, cedars, larch, spruce) and a couple members of Cupressaceae (cypresses, juniper, redwood) and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
[[cjr - there aren't any in california - unless you're thinking of planted plants?]] Extra credit: Find and submit observations of some non-conifer gymnosperms
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
keying exercise 2
Watch the video below and review the important terminology of conifer morphology. Now find the first conifer around you and identify it to species using a dichotomous key. For California you can use the Jepson eFlora. For other places in the USA you can use the Flora of North America or a regional key. If you have a difficult time finding a key for your region online please contact the instructor. Once you have ID'ed your conifer upload it to our iNaturalist project and copy the characteristics/descriptions you used at each step of the key.
flowering plants
iNat Assignment 5: angiosperms
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of the ANA grade or magnoliids and a couple members of Caryophyllales and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
keying exercise 3
Watch the video below and review the important terminology of flower morphology. Now find the first flower around you and identify it to species using a dichotomous key. For California you can use the Jepson eFlora. For other places in the USA you can use the Flora of North America or a regional key. If you have a difficult time finding a key for your region online please contact the instructor. Once you have ID'ed your flower upload it to our iNaturalist project and copy the characteristics/descriptions you used at each step of the key.
iNat Assignment 6: Ranunculales
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of Ranunculales and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
Time for a pub walk
To help prepare your for your final project let's introduce ourselves to a great practice and associated genre of writing the pub walk.
Read this Guardian article and familiarize yourself with the genre. The pub walk is not only a guide to different pubs, but it is a guided walk through nature. Now write your own and tell us about a fun route around your neighborhood and describe to us the different trees as landmarks. Try to note 6-7. Of course you can use other flora, fauna and landscapes, even pubs in your guide. You can have an expanded pub walk or series of pub walks with associated video descriptions (à la Jeopardy! video clues) for your final project.
iNat Assignment 7
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of Saxifragales or Vitales and Geraniales and Myrtales and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
iNat Assignment 8: Fabids
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of Malpighiales and Fabales and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
iNat Assignment 9: even more Fabids
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of Rosales and Cucurbitales as well as a couple of the Fagales and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
iNat Assignment 10: Malvids
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of Brassicales as well as a couple of the Malvales and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
iNat Assignment 11: Asterids
Now go outside and take photos of a couple members of Cornales or Ericales and one of a member of lamiids and one of a member of campanulids and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
iNat Assignment 12: Asters and Mints
Now go outside and take photos of a couple of mints and a couple of asters and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
iNat Assignment 13: Petaloid monocots
Now go outside and take four photos of any of the seven orders covered and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
Bonus iNat Assignment 14: graminoid monocots
Now go outside and take photos of these four families and post it our class project in iNaturalist. Try and ID it to genus level as a bonus challenge.
Remember "sedges have edges, rushes are round, grasses are hollow and smoke joints around town."
In your observation description on iNat please include a list of observed characters that permitted the identification such as killer synapomorphies, geographical or geological location, etc.
Wow. That was a lot of plants.
Final project: show us your plants
Now that you've identified many plants around your neighborhood, give us a tour in any way you'd like. It can be a pub walk with videos, a nature documentary, or even a music video, just to name a few ideas. Try and incorporate local history, geological facts, animal interactions, ecosystem changes and more to tell a story about where you live now.
for inspo
Credits:
Non-wikipedia images: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos; Cal Acad of Sci; Soltis et al., 2019; Colleen Neff, Shen et al., 2018. The images used on the page are either in the public domain or licensed under CC-BY, CC-BY-SA, or GFDL. The authors of images not in the public domain are in relative order of appearance: James Lindsey at Ecology of Commanster, Kristian Peters, J.F Gaffard, BerndH, Fred Hsu, Eric Guinther, Rror, Steve Fitzgerald, Christian Fischer, Valérie75, Kurt Stüber, Björn S., Peter Coxhead, Dick Culbert, Jaknouse, Vzb83, James K. Lindsey, Hans Hillewaert, Samuel Thomas, Anneli Salo, Keisotyo, Forest and Kim Starr, AHR12, L. Shyamal, Bernd Haynold, Ginkgob, H. Zell, Raul654, Ian Alexander, Tim Bertelink, L. Shyamal, Vinayaraj, Psumuseum, Bries, Thomas Schoch, Dcrjsr, MPF, MargaretRDonald, Bradluke22, Muffet, Wolfgang Moroder, Lestat, Dave Powell, Scott Zona, Alpsdake, peupleloup, James Steakley, K Hari Krishnan, Curtis Clark, Elf, Marcelo RosaMelo, Arria Belli, Anachronist, PD-PDPHOTO.ORG, Matthew Robinson, GFDL, Rosťa Kracík, Walter Siegmund, Yanto, Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, Martin Olsson, Stan Shebs, NoahElhardt, Kenneth Bosma, Wclarke, Sgerbic, Dick Culbert, Darkone, brewbooks, Dcrjsr, James Steakley, Skalle-Per Hedenhös, Laura Brolis, Walter Siegmund, Vsion, MichaelMaggs, Dan Murtha, Frank Vincentz, Sannse, Eria Wei, Jerzy Opioła, Jerzy Opioła, Kim Hansen, BerndtF, Stan Shebs, Christian Fischer, Eric Guinther, Ethel Aardvark, Ivette Loredo, Gold Bernard, Alvesgaspar, Dario Crespi, Peripitus, Stan Shebs, Melburnian, Brocken Inaglory, Frank Vincentz, PumpkinSky, Stephencdickson, Silk666, Avicennasis, Banswalhemant, HFret, Wibowo Djatmiko, Emőke Dénes, Marshman, Zachi Evenor, Stan Shebs, JJ Harrison, Uwe H. Friese, Woodlot, Silverije, Eric in SF, Dcrjsr, Димитър Найденов / Dimìtar Nàydenov, Folini, Chiswick Chap, MPF, Whitney Cranshaw, Eric Hunt, Willow, BlueCanoe, Dalgial, sarefo, SaltySemanticSchmuck, Muhammad Mahdi Karim, Ellen Levy Finch, ZooFari, WiZZiK, Thayne Tuason, Eugene Zelenko, Jill B. Lignaut, Walter Siegmund, D. Gordon E. Robertson, Jonas Bergsten, Atudu, junichiro aoyama, Pokrajac, C T Johansson, Nadiatalent, Joe Decruyenaere, TeunSpaans, RI, Galia, Roger Culos , Paasikivi, Hardyplants, Mdf, Hajotthu, J.M.Garg, Aftabbanoori, Alvesgaspar, H. Zell, JLPC, Gordon Leppig & Andrea J. Pickart, Sgerbic, Curtis Clark, Franco Folini, Dawn Endico, docentjoyce, Antandrus, KarlM, Derek Ramsey, Sean A O’hara, Ramin Nakisa, Edoddridge, Harald Süpfle, Fan Wen, A. Barra, Orchi, Mmcknight4, Megan Hansen, Bogdan, Toby Hudson, Muhammad Mahdi Karim, Miya.m, Justin Lebar , Nimphel, Yazz’, Cbrescia, Aelwyn, Kristian Peters, Rasbak, Stefan.lefnaer, cassi saari, Opioła Jerzy, HermannSchachner, Namazu-tron, Eric Guinther A link to all the licenses are https://commons.wikimedia.org/ followed by searching the author’s name. If you are unsure which image corresponds to each author you can find out by using the reverse image search at google.com. Please contact michael_song at berkeley dot edu for any corrections or if content was misused.