User talk:MtBotany

1000 Mainspace Edits🌿

I just passed 1000 mainspace edits. Making a note of this for myself. Currently have 15 mainspace pages that I have started. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 03:13, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Congratulations! Your work on plant articles are valued and appreciated. Schminnte (talk • contribs) 15:23, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks. I'm fairly happy with my work and I hope to be around for 1000 more. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 17:39, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

very cool Pliingplong (talk) 20:28, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Indeed, @Pliingplong. But it all counts. Even edits on Wikimedia commons and Wikidata count toward your total edit count. You can look at your own edit count statistic with the link on the right side "User contributions" off of your User Page. Create your talk page! Create a one line User Page. It all counts. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 22:49, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Pause for Plants

Hallo! I'm taking a pause to look at some plants in the real world, my probable last edit for few weeks will be 28 August 2023. I plan-t on being back unless I get eaten by rare African strangler vine. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 04:32, 27 August 2023 (UTC)

Back to editing

Making a general announcement that I am back to being more active and will respond more quickly when I am pinged. Also back to working on cleaning up, improving, and adding citations to plant pages with a focus on western North America. This is a good place to ask me to work on a plant entry for a species native to the Southern Rocky Mountains or propose a collaboration. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 17:26, 29 September 2023 (UTC)

Thank you

		The Plantae Barnstar
		Thank you! for your efforts in improving flora articles. Eucalyptusmint (talk) 00:56, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Thanks @Eucalyptusmint. I almost feel like I understand what I am doing after almost a year of serious editing. I'm no Wikipedia expert (yet) but I'm pretty happy with what I have contributed and hope that I can continue with this hobby for a while. Or if I am forced away by life I can come back in retirement to fix more plants. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 02:11, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

Most definitely, it also took me a bit to get the hang of it initially and still feel like I'm figuring it out as I go. But that's one of the beauties of this encylopedia since there's many experienced editors/resources to get help from and be able to contribute as life allows. Eucalyptusmint (talk) 00:08, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

1200 Mainspace edits - 2000 edits to English wikipedia🌿

I made my 2000th edit to Vanilla_odorata today. Getting it into shape for a possible DYK submission. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 18:35, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

WP:RED

To be clear, I also add red links only to things that I think are likely to be notable. What I think of as the 'best practice' these days is to use the Template:Interlanguage link to link to relevant articles on other Wikipedias. If something has an article on, let's say, German wiki but not English, the odds are very good it is notable and just awaits the translation. And red links are important reminders to folks that Wikipedia still needs work, and encourages people to create those articles. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 00:32, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

Piotrus, I agree that what you are doing is entirely within Wikipedia guidelines and it serves the very useful purpose embodying the unfinished puzzle pieces in the Wikipedia logo. It is a little prompt to anyone who sees it, "Hey, someone thinks this is notable, can you complete it?"

I prefer a stylistic choice putting more emphasis on the pieces that are already in place. To not put the gaps front and center, but instead to treat them as a "too do very soon" list. The coding of a promise to myself that I'm going to do the work to carve another stone for the unfinished pyramid. It it not wrong by the rules, but if I put those red links and had no plan to fill them myself I would feel bad for volunteering other people for a job I was unwilling or unable to do myself.

If I ever know I am dying I'll spend my last month on Wikipedia filling as many redlinks as I can and I won't put a single new redlink in. I'll leave that choice for those who come to edit after me. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 01:35, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

a leek from the cauldron for you!

Would that every RfA were about plantipedia! Thanks for a good commitment to the bit :) theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 19:06, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

Thanks @Theleekycauldron:. I figure I can run this bit for at least a year before people start throwing things at me or threatening me with ferocious tauntings. Or someone gifts me an African strangler vine, then I'll know I might have taken the bit too far. Or maybe not far enough. After all Morality's lease has run out and now Science has the keys to the apartment!

Also, for some reason that picture reminds me of the photo of Wil Wheaton Collating Paper. Is it the body language? The almost like I'm going to smile but I'm not sure because my friend made me do this? Hopefully you don't need a picture of Wil Wheaton collating paper. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 20:18, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

For what it's worth, if you ever need a reference from Trees in Canada (it's a fairly comprehensive book I've had for a few years now), I'm your woman. I also like moss lawns and clover lawns. The last one is a redlink if you dare and it's a 2023 trend lol :) Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 17:26, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

Okay, I admit I couldn't resist the redlink... but if you want to help with expanding the article, I'm all for it! Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 18:10, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

@Clovermoss Curses! Foiled again by quick Wikipedia Editors! I'll have to commiserate with Dr. Reginald Bushroot over this one down at the villain bar.

Though now I'm wondering if any of my horticultural books would have information about clover or other non-traditional lawns. Though my favorite lawn replacement is a recreated shortgrass prairie because No Mowing!!! Someday soon Bouteloua dactyloides is going on my list of articles to give "the treatment".* 🌿MtBotany (talk) 18:35, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

* "The Treatment", when MtBotany starts with a blank, or nearly so, sandbox page and starts rebuilding an article as it it were a redlink. Then goes to the article and pulls out the good sources to complete it, sees if there are better pictures available, cleans up botanical drawings from the commons, and then completely replaces the page with the new version. Usually resulting in ⁠2/3⁠ of the article being his fault.

A barnstar for you!

	The Barnstar of Good Humor
	For your good humor. WikiOriginal-9 (talk) 21:53, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

Plants

As luck would have it, I live in ER5H - CENTRAL SIERRA LOWER MONTANE FORESTS, spend quite a lot of time walking around outside, and have a DSLR with some decent lenses. All I lack is an obsessive knowledge of the plants that surround me (I can identify the cedar incense, the ponderosa pine, the black oak, the manzanita and the Pacific madrone but that is about it). If you are willing to indulge a deluge of noob-tier plant identification requests, I am happy to learn and to go roaming with my full outfit. jp×g🗯️ 11:46, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

@JPxG Happy to help almost anyone get more into plants. I may even be useful for at least half the plants plants growing in the Central Sierra. I'm even occasionally useful for plants "back east". Though the further from my home range the less useful I become and once things are tropical I'm downright useless.

I'll also let you in on my "secret" weapon. When I have no clue I either upload my pictures to iNaturalist or reverse search by looking at all the recent check ins for a geographic area. Recently I figured out a plant by simply looking at all the recent observations in Chatfield State Park and there was Persicaria amphibia, just as easy as that. I should have realized what it was by the similarity of the flower to Bistorta vivipara, but seeing it growing in water threw me initially. Of course when I want to maintain my witch-y or wizard-ly reputation of knowing everything I never let on that I use such tools.

And iNaturalist is great for finding pictures to upload to Commons. It has been a total lifesaver for me working on my Draft:List of Penstemon species. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 16:43, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

DYK for Vanilla odorata

On 10 November 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Vanilla odorata, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that euglossine bees distribute the seeds of vanilla tlatepusco? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Vanilla odorata. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Vanilla odorata), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 00:02, 10 November 2023 (UTC)

@Theleekycauldron Hi Leeky! I'm running in small circles here. Made it to the front page with bees and plants. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 00:21, 10 November 2023 (UTC)

well fantastic! I'm glad to hear it :) theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 01:06, 10 November 2023 (UTC)

DYK for Pedicularis groenlandica

On 11 November 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Pedicularis groenlandica, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that little pink elephants are parasitic? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Pedicularis groenlandica. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Pedicularis groenlandica), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Aoidh (talk) 00:03, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Plantae Barnstar
		Thank you for your excellent DYK on Pedicularis groenlandica. Made me chuckle! W. Tell DCCXLVI (talk to me!/c) 16:07, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

@Wilhelm Tell DCCXLVI Thanks. Credit to @Fritzmann2002 for the inspired wording of the hook. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 19:29, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

DYK for Wyethia amplexicaulis

On 14 November 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Wyethia amplexicaulis, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the scenic fields of northern wyethia (pictured) found in the western United States are sometimes a sign that an area has been overgrazed? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Wyethia amplexicaulis. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Wyethia amplexicaulis), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

♠PMC♠ (talk) 00:01, 14 November 2023 (UTC)

Technical Page Move

Hello, your requested page move for Mahonia nervosa → Berberis nervosa has been completed. I think that leftover redirects have been cleaned up, but please check them out as you offered in the request. Thanks. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (TALK|CONTRIBS) 19:38, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

3000 Edits🌿

A good moment to take stock of what I have done.

Today I passed 3000 total edits to the English version of Wikipedia. I have over 4234 edits across all the Wiki projects, most of the others (over 1000) to Wikimedia Commons. I'm fairly happy with my editing over the last year. Over 60% mainspace edits so I'm staying focused on building an Encyclopedia and not getting bogged down in the minutia of "How should thus and such be properly classified?" Yes, some of the stuff in Wikipedia is useless/pointless, but that's the nature of human endeavor.

If I broke down my edits into smaller bites I could have a much higher number of edits, but that's not my goal. I like my edits to be as good and as useful as possible. To me that means reaching my own limits rather than doing one one tiny thing. A shovelful of knowledge rather than just one grain of sand, at least where that is possible. Keep going everyone! 🌿MtBotany (talk) 21:16, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

DYK for Castilleja integra

On 20 December 2023, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Castilleja integra, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that orange paintbrushes are guarded by rufous hummingbirds? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Castilleja integra. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Castilleja integra), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

RoySmith (talk) 00:03, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

Happy Holidays!

Hike395 is wishing you Happy Holidays! This greeting (and season) promotes WikiLove and hopefully this note has made your day a little better. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user Happy Holidays, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Happy New Year!

Spread the cheer by adding {{subst:Happy holidays}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

— hike395 (talk) 21:54, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

New page reviewer granted

Hi MtBotany. Your account has been added to the "New page reviewers" user group. Please check back at the permissions page in case your user right is time-limited or probationary. This user group allows you to review new pages through the Curation system and mark them as patrolled, tag them for maintenance issues, or nominate them for deletion. The list of articles awaiting review is located at the New Pages Feed. New page reviewing is vital to maintaining the integrity of the encyclopedia. If you have not already done so, you must read the tutorial at New Pages Review, the linked guides and essays, and fully understand the deletion policy. If you need any help or want to discuss the process, you are welcome to use the new page reviewer talk page or ask via the NPP Discord. In addition, please remember:

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The reviewer right does not change your status or how you can edit articles. If you no longer want this user right, you also may ask any administrator to remove it for you at any time. In cases of abuse or persistent inaccuracy of reviewing, or long-term inactivity, the right may be withdrawn at administrator discretion. If you can read any languages other than English, please add yourself to the list of new page reviewers with language proficiencies. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 17:20, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

Welcome to the 2024 WikiCup!

Happy New Year and Happy New WikiCup! The 2024 competition has just begun and all article creators, expanders, improvers and reviewers are welcome to take part. Even if you are a novice editor you should be able to advance to at least the second round, improving your editing skills as you go. If you have already signed up, your submissions page can be found here. If you have not yet signed up, you can add your name here and the judges will set up your submissions page ready for you to take part. Any questions on the scoring, rules or anything else should be directed to one of the judges, or posted to the WikiCup talk page. Signups will close on 31 January, and the first round will end on 26 February; the 64 highest scorers at that time will move on to round 2. The judges for the WikiCup this year are: Cwmhiraeth (talk · contribs · email), Epicgenius (talk · contribs · email), and Frostly (talk · contribs · email). Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove your name from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:21, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Response to your edits of Asclepias syriaca

@MtBotany: You reverted my edits to Asclepias syriaca that had bundled citations using an obsolete format. I have therefore created in that article new bundled citations in accordance with "WP:CITEBUNDLE: Use a bullet list". 2601:140:9480:81B0:346F:3316:C446:69CA (talk) 15:26, 8 January 2024 (UTC)

@26001015b126631e7d146b4e50c1fa72 I doubt you will see this since you do not have an account. I made a mistake and I apologize. The bundling thing did something that made it seem like you were breaking references. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 20:10, 9 January 2024 (UTC)

DYK for Cymbalaria muralis

On 16 January 2024, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Cymbalaria muralis, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that Oxford ivy grows towards the light to bloom and then towards the darkness when going to seed? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Cymbalaria muralis. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Cymbalaria muralis), and the hook may be added to the statistics page after its run on the Main Page has completed. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Isabelle Belato ^🏳‍🌈 00:02, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

A Plant for You

	The Clustered Mountainmint of Impressedness
	I stumbled upon your userpage entirely by accident, looked at what you've contributed, and must say I'm impressed. Here's a plant that grows in my area (Pycnanthemum muticum) that I enjoy. I wish I knew as much about plants as you do! Cynthia-Coriníon (talk) 09:55, 22 January 2024 (UTC)

Thanks, @Cynthia Nocton. It is fairly easy to learn about plants, because they're modular. Lots of repeating patterns and structures. Shall I create a draft for Pycnanthemum muticum then? I'd be pleased to teach the tricks of plant editing. The best first step for Wikipedia is double checking with some really good databases like POWO, FNA, and/or World Plants to see if botanists have this one settled or are still having punch outs over the right name. if you check the draft you can see how I formatted the information from POWO and interpreted the information in plain English for a general audience. I always start with taxonomy because that is actually easiest once you know the way author abbreviation and suchlike work. 🌿MtBotany (talk) 20:40, 22 January 2024 (UTC)

Hey, that would be pretty cool! Thank you! Cynthia-Coriníon (talk) 03:56, 23 January 2024 (UTC)