Which native plant species have been observed in Vermont with a flower (or flower bud) either very early or very late in the season? The following search URLs can be used to answer this question:

Observations of native plants with flowers in Jan, Feb, and Mar: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?introduced=false&month=1,2,3&place_id=47&subview=table&term_id=12&term_value_id=13&view=species

Observations of native plants with flower buds in Jan, Feb, and Mar: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?introduced=false&month=1,2,3&place_id=47&subview=table&term_id=12&term_value_id=15&view=species

Observations of native plants with flowers in Nov and Dec: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?introduced=false&month=11,12&place_id=47&subview=table&term_id=12&term_value_id=13&view=species

Observations of native plants with flower buds in Nov and Dec: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?introduced=false&month=11,12&place_id=47&subview=table&term_id=12&term_value_id=15&view=species

Studying these lists, there are few authentic observations of flowers in Dec, Jan, or Feb. The aster observed on December 11 is one of my favorites. (There may be other non-annotated observations out there, I don’t know.)

Just for fun, here are my most extreme observations of native plants in VT with flowers:

Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) observed on March 26:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152724920

Rock Harlequin (Capnoides sempervirens) observed on November 8:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/105527264

What are yours?

The newly discovered annotation tooltips motivated a discussion regarding the Plant Phenology annotation. A proposal to replace the Plant Phenology annotation with a new annotation (called Reproductive Structures) grew out of the discussion:

Reproductive Structures

1. Flower bud: At least one closed flower bud is visible and attached to the plant
2. Flower: At least one open flower is visible and attached to the plant
3. Fruit: At least one seed-bearing fruit is visible and attached to the plant
4. No reproductive structures: No sexual reproductive structures (in whole or part) are visible

For details regarding the proposal, see:

• Proposal to replace the Plant Phenology annotation (googledoc)

If you support this proposal, please join the conversation!

By definition, a persistent plant part is retained after its normal function has been completed. I created an observation field for persistent plant part, with the following values:

• bud scales
• calyx
• frond
• fruit
• seed
• strobilus
• style

The set of values may change as I continue to use this observation field. In particular, I may come to regret having separate fields for fruit and seed. Since a fruit is a container for seeds, those two values necessarily overlap. In practice, I choose the plant part that dominates the photo evidence.

Comments welcome!