I am a self-studied botany hobbyist living in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. I use iNaturalist to learn about and appreciate the wildlife around me (especially plants) and to help others do the same. Please feel free to interact with me in any way that aligns with one of those two goals.

MY OBSERVATIONS

I regularly observe the wild plants present in my suburban yard each year. I try to remain alert to fauna, funga, and other kingdoms of life along the way too, but plants are my primary interest.

For non-macro photos, I use my smartphone -- currently a Google Pixel 7 Pro. For macro photos, I currently use an OM System Tough TG-7, often with a flash diffuser. Prior to 2024, I used a set of four Bausch & Lomb Hastings triplet hand lenses (4x, 10x, 14x, and 20x) which I held up to my smartphone camera.

Please consider reviewing my plant, animal, fungi, or other observations in need of identification.

MY IDENTIFICATIONS

Within Nebraska, I am especially familiar with the species within Molluginaceae and Phytolaccaceae, and am currently learning to identify the species within Portulacaceae. I am also learning to identify the species of Polygonum section. Polygonum within North America.

I regularly check for observations that are:

• (1) without an identification entirely (Nebraska),
• (2) of life at the rank of kingdom or above (Nebraska),
• (3) of vascular plants at the rank of epifamily or above (Nebraska),
• (4) of plants I've marked reviewed but not added an identification to (Nebraska),
• (5) of plant taxa I am familiar (or becoming familiar) with locally (Nebraska),
• (6) of Polygonum sect. Polygonum (North America).

My primary plant identification resources are two floras and various plant glossaries:

• Flora of North America North of Mexico (1993+) by Flora of North America Editorial Committee
• The Flora of Nebraska (2nd edition, 2011) by Robert Kaul, David Sutherland, and Steven Rolfsmeier
• Plant Identification Terminology (2nd edition, 2001) by James Harris and Melinda Harris
• The Kew Plant Glossary (2nd edition, 2020) by Henk Beentje