I explored the Intervale for the BioBlitz project. Using iNaturalist, I identified 11 different species including common daffodil, ostrich fern, mugwort, greater burdock, great rhododendron, broomrape, boxelder, red osier dogwood, weeping willow, orpine, and squill. I found iNaturalist to be very intuitive and easy to use.
I also took a look at the City Nature Challenge for the greater Burlington area. Similarly to the Intervale, boxelder, weeping willow, red osier dogwood, greater burdock, and mugwort were found all over Burlington. Surprisingly, I didn’t see anyone else ID ostrich fern, which I noticed right away at the Intervale due to its unique fiddlehead shape.
Taking a look at the Manhattan City Nature Challenge, several species seen in Burlington were also found in Manhattan. This includes poison ivy, mugwort, and dandelion. Shifting a bit further from the Northeast US, Mumbai ID’d sacred fig, Indian banyan, and sea almond amongst others. These have not been identified in Vermont. I found the distribution of some of Mumbai’s species to be interesting. While not identified in Vermont, sacred fig was identified across Lake Champlain, in Elizabethtown, NY. Similarly, Indian banyan was identified in Syracuse, NY and Boston, MA.
iNaturalist link: Observations
Squill
Orpine
Weeping Willow
Red Osier Dogwood
Broomrape
Great Rhododendron
Greater Burdock
Ostrich Fern
Common Mugwort
Common Daffodil
Boxelder