ARPHA Preprints, doi: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e117930

Genus Erica: An Identification Aid Version 4.00

E. G. H. Oliver^‡, Nigel Forshaw^§, Inge M. Oliver^|†, Fritz Volk^|†, A. W. S. Schumann^|†, Laurence J. Dorr^¶, Rendert D. Hoekstra^#, Seth D. Musker^¤, Nicolai M. Nürk^«, Michael Pirie^», Anthony G. Rebelo^˄

‡ University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa§ Unaffiliated, Cape Town, South Africa| Unaffiliated, Matieland, South Africa¶ National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, United States of America# Unaffiliated, Oakridge, South Africa¤ University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa« University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany» University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway˄ South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, South Africa

† Deceased author

Corresponding author: Michael Pirie ( michael.pirie@uib.no )

This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Oliver EGH, Forshaw N, Oliver IM, Volk F, Schumann AWS, Dorr LJ, Hoekstra RD, Musker SD, Nürk NM, Pirie M, Rebelo AG (2024) Genus Erica: An Identification Aid Version 4.00. ARPHA Preprints. https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e117930

Abstract

Species identification is fundamental to all aspects of biology and conservation. The process can be challenging, particularly in groups including many closely related or similar species. The problem is confounded by the absence of an up-to-date taxonomic revision, but even with such a resource all but professional botanists may struggle to recognise key species, presenting a substantial barrier to vital work such as surveys, threat assessments, and seed collection for ex situ conservation. Genus Erica: An Identification Aid is a tool to help both amateurs and professionals identify (using a limited number of accessible characteristics) and find information about the 851 species and many subspecific taxa of the genus Erica. We present an updated version 4.00, with new features including integrating distribution data from GBIF and iNaturalist, links to taxonomic resources through World Flora Online, and a probability function for identifications, that is freely available for PCs. It remains a work in progress: We discuss routes forward for collaboratively improving this resource.

Keywords

Ericaceae, GBIF, iNaturalist, species identification, World Flora Online