Pretty Prunus

Now that spring is upon us the chokecherry trees (Prunus virginiana) are starting to bloom! This month let’s find blooming individuals to help document their range and phenology in the Denver metro area. The Prunus genus is composed of important fruits, like cherries, peaches, plums, and even almonds! Chokecherry is large shrub to small tree that is native in Colorado. The fruit is commonly foraged, especially for jam and wine. To identify, look for small, white flowers with five petals with yellow in the center, and bark with lenticels (which look like oblong pale bumps). The leaves are finely serrated, oval, and alternate. The fruits will be green in late spring but ripen to a red or dark purple during the summer. They are common in the Front Range and Foothills, especially along riparian areas.

Help DBG document the abundance and distribution of chokecherry by photographing as many plants as possible in the month of May. Your findings will show up on the May EcoQuest iNaturalist project as well as the overall Denver EcoFlora Project.

WHAT IS AN ECOQUEST?
EcoQuests, part of the Denver EcoFlora project, challenge citizens to become citizen scientists and observe, study, and conserve the native plants of the City via iNaturalist, an easy-to-use mobile app.
HOW DO I GET STARTED?

1. Download the iNaturalist app or register online at iNaturalist.org
2. Take photos of the plants in bloom that you find on your daily neighborhood walk. It is ok if they are weeds! But avoid taking photos of cultivated plants in gardens or in your home.
3. If you are concerned about revealing the location of sensitive organisms or observations at your own house, you can hide the exact location from the public by changing the "geoprivacy" of the observation to "obscured."
4. Post your findings on iNaturalist via the app
5. Your observations will automatically be added to the Denver EcoFlora Project

6. You can add an identification to your photo when you post your findings on iNaturalist, or leave it blank for others to identify.
   WHAT IS THE GOAL?
   The EcoFlora project is designed to meaningfully connect citizens with biodiversity, and to assemble novel observations and data on the metro area’s flora to better inform policy decisions and conservation strategies.

Posted on 01 May, 2023 15:03 by alissa_iverson