The Phenophase Primer for Flowering Plants: Understanding Plant Phenophases for Nature's Notebook, is finally here!
This extraordinary 240-page resource will address all of your questions regarding the nuance of phenophase status in plants. The Primer is broken down into two sections, created to assist observers in making observations as accurately as possible in Nature’s Notebook. The first section, "The Phenophases", familiarizes observers with each phenophase using examples from many different plant species. The second section, "The Plant Functional Groups", describes the sequence of phenophases an observer would look for over the annual life cycle of a few species chosen to represent each of the plant functional groups defined by the USA-NPN.
Ellen Denny (USA-NPN Monitoring Design and Data Coordinator) and Patty Guertin (USA-NPN Botanist) defined the structure and content of this Primer. Patty developed the written and photographic content for Section 1 and preliminary content for Section 2. Ellen reviewed and edited Section 1, and completed the written and photographic content for Section 2. LoriAnne Barnett Warren (former USA-NPN Education Coordinator) managed the project in its early years. Graphic design was conceptualized by Terry Moody and implemented by Sara Schaffer and Yash Sihag.
USA-NPN staff members Erin Posthumus and Samantha Brewer provided careful review and editorial suggestions. We are grateful for external reviews provided by Yingying Xie (Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences at Northern Kentucky University), Basundhara Maji (Doctoral Researcher at Otto-Friedrich-Universitat Bamburg in Germany, and author of several children’s books), Rachel Goland (independent contractor for the USA-NPN), and two dedicated Nature’s Notebook observers and Local Phenology Leaders, Gina Lloyd (Louisiana Coordinator for Time to Restore) and Amanda Wanlass (Executive Director of Indiana Phenology).
We gratefully acknowledge our observers and Local Phenology Leaders who participate in the Nature’s Notebook phenology monitoring program. Their active contributions and support create a framework for the broader understanding of how our planet’s species are responding to environmental change.
A special note about Phenophase Primer author Patty Guertin
Patty Guertin was the USA-NPN staff botanist from 2007 until her death from cancer in 2018. She was first and foremost an artist with a remarkable eye for detail, and was drawn into the botanical world by the beauty she found in the complex details of plant life. Patty was meticulous in her work and this Primer never would have been attempted without her extraordinary combination of talents in design, botany and patience!
After Patty's death, USA-NPN Monitoring Design and Data Coodinator Ellen Denny picked up where Patty left off and brought the Phenophase Primer for Flowering Plants to completion. We hope that you find value in this carefully crafted Primer and it helps you to learn new things about the plants that you follow in Nature's Notebook!
