I am interested in your thoughts about how to identify plants with lookalikes, given that observations are a snapshot in time. For example, leaves/bark are always there, but flowers or fruits are not. So it seems that early summer or late spring observations would have to be revisited in late sum…

[image] andre_214: One way would be to edit the original observation at the same location with updated photos We would worry that the date of observation would be wrong then, if you have multiple dates mixed in one observation [image] andre_214: Another way would be to make a new observa…

You can also link them using the “similar observation set” field but I don’t know how many identifiers would know to look for that.

Welcome to the forum @andre_214 Yep! Make a new observation and link to it in comments/notes/observation field! Please don’t add photos from very different times to the same observation - an observation represents a given interaction between an organism and a person. One potential issue with addin…

This is an interesting method. As a newbie, the fields are somewhat obscure to me. If one uses the “similar observation set”, does it show on the observation page?

OK good. New observation it is! Because I am a newbie, I wanted to ask before doing anything. I see that the iNatForum is the way to go!

Yes, but you have to know to look over on the right for the fields. For the kind of situation you are asking about I would use both the similar obs field as well as updating the Notes for each observation as you go with links to the others of the same individual. Identifiers will appreciate having a…

I leave a comment on the first obs Flowers at (with the obs URL) And vice versa.

Cross-linking observations via notes/comments is great, but I’m also a big fan of the similar observation set field. It allows you to pull up all observations with the same value like this example . Some of the individual observations might have never gotten a confirming ID by themselves but as a set…

Oooh, thats a cool data set. As an aside, its so weird to see a tulip trees(s) growing out of the context of a forest where it can stay (relatively) shorter and gnarled, instead of looking straight as a telephone pole.

I’ve got a tutorial on linking multiple observations: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/pfau_tarleton/29431 [corrected URL]

I think those trees keep getting “trimmed” by the harsh weather on the ridge line - strong winds, ice storms, lightning etc. There’s evidence of several injuries visible when the leaves are down in the winter and it’s clear that the leader broke off at some point, allowing lateral branches to take o…

Difficult Identifications

General

Topic		Replies	Views
Cross-Reference 2 observations, same specimen, different dates General	6	213	September 30, 2024
Refining observations? General	10	634	January 31, 2024
Can you link different observations General	7	473	October 21, 2023
Correcting My Observations General question	9	298	September 17, 2024
Connecting observations General	9	338	June 20, 2025

Difficult Identifications

Related topics