Sometimes I struggle with IDing a certain group of species, for a long time, and then all of a sudden, it’s like my brain suddenly develops the ability to distinguish them. At first, I might know how to go through logically with a key, looking for certain characteristics, but I lack that automatic, …

[image] cazort: Do you ever have this thing happen? Isn’t it really awesome? Only for the past 40 years :smile: And yes, it is! And yes, even after 40 years, having the rich collection of images on iNaturalist to examine at leisure has allowed me to see new patterns that had not previously …

That’s fantastic! And yes, a similar thing happens for me. Thank you, by the way, for helping with Lactuca IDs; I started trying to ID all of needs-ID L. serriola when I first started on iNat, and I still haven’t finished the job …

Yes, and I love when that happens! Same kind of thing happens when I’m struggling with the ID of an individual, going back and forth between possibilities, and suddenly the ID falls in place with an almost-audible “CLICK”. You do realize you are opening yourself up to Lactuca ID requests… (cough)

I swear I had been trying to compose this same essay about my experience with identifying Smilax (Greenbriers), but you have saved me the trouble! I have spent the past several days working on the ID backlog for Smilax in the US. I have to do it state by state because each species has regional var…

When Things "Click" For ID of Difficult Groups

Nature Talk

kitty12 March 4, 2020, 1:54am 6

It’s never happened for a whole genus, but definitely for particular species - and when they click, they start popping out of the landscape at you.

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When Things "Click" For ID of Difficult Groups

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