🍂MtBotany
@mtbotany.bsky.social
Botanizer. I'm not mad, just irresponsible. Also not a person made of plants or a killer robot pretending to be human, honest.
Wikipedia editor that writes about plants. Posting about plants 92.8% of the time. But I comment about other things.
Wikipedia editor that writes about plants. Posting about plants 92.8% of the time. But I comment about other things.
Pinned
🍂MtBotany
@mtbotany.bsky.social
· Oct 17
If you have a request for a plant (that is not a moss or algae) article, reply here or on my Wikipedia talk page. I will make an attempt on any plant species, genus, or family.
#Wikipedia #NativePlants #Botany
#Wikipedia #NativePlants #Botany
A mountainside garden containing many species. To the west of Crested Butte in July. There are little pink elephants, paintbrush flowers, and even some of the not-terribly spectacular green orchids. #Bloomscrolling
November 25, 2025 at 2:34 AM
A mountainside garden containing many species. To the west of Crested Butte in July. There are little pink elephants, paintbrush flowers, and even some of the not-terribly spectacular green orchids. #Bloomscrolling
Every year I swear I'll do a better job documenting so I'll be sure which lupine flower I'm looking at, but no. Probably Lupinus caudatus, but I'm not 100% sure. It has the little spur, but lupines are hard. Photograph from June, Steamboat Lake State Park, Colorado #Bloomscrolling
November 23, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Every year I swear I'll do a better job documenting so I'll be sure which lupine flower I'm looking at, but no. Probably Lupinus caudatus, but I'm not 100% sure. It has the little spur, but lupines are hard. Photograph from June, Steamboat Lake State Park, Colorado #Bloomscrolling
Okay, okay, I gotta break character for a story here folks. For the purposes of this story I am not some sort of plant monstrosity driving around an undead corpse. Instead imagine young child person living in rural Colorado in the Black Forest. (That's not relevant, I just like the name.)
🧵
🧵
Right? I fell off a horse as a kid, wiped out spectacularly, and thought that being sore after was The Worst Thing Ever. If I did that today, I’d be in traction.
November 22, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Okay, okay, I gotta break character for a story here folks. For the purposes of this story I am not some sort of plant monstrosity driving around an undead corpse. Instead imagine young child person living in rural Colorado in the Black Forest. (That's not relevant, I just like the name.)
🧵
🧵
Has anyone got a picture of the adobe penstemon (Penstemon retrorsus) they would be willing to release under creative commons by attribution or by attribution share alike on #Wikipedia? It's either that or I'll have to try for a picture myself next year.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
Penstemon retrorsus - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 22, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Has anyone got a picture of the adobe penstemon (Penstemon retrorsus) they would be willing to release under creative commons by attribution or by attribution share alike on #Wikipedia? It's either that or I'll have to try for a picture myself next year.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
Going through my photos from this past year. I'm quite confident this is meadow penstemon based on its growing in somewhat moist areas and seeing some other individuals closer to the road.
#Bloomscrolling
#Bloomscrolling
November 21, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Going through my photos from this past year. I'm quite confident this is meadow penstemon based on its growing in somewhat moist areas and seeing some other individuals closer to the road.
#Bloomscrolling
#Bloomscrolling
An important research maxim is to only use books for their area of expertise.
Example: Don't trust a wildflower guide for biography, ethnobotany, etymology, or edibility.
At least until you see that the authors are not just repeating hearsay or half-remembered factoids.
Example: Don't trust a wildflower guide for biography, ethnobotany, etymology, or edibility.
At least until you see that the authors are not just repeating hearsay or half-remembered factoids.
November 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM
An important research maxim is to only use books for their area of expertise.
Example: Don't trust a wildflower guide for biography, ethnobotany, etymology, or edibility.
At least until you see that the authors are not just repeating hearsay or half-remembered factoids.
Example: Don't trust a wildflower guide for biography, ethnobotany, etymology, or edibility.
At least until you see that the authors are not just repeating hearsay or half-remembered factoids.
What happened was this. I was working on a plant named for Rydberg and made a link to his article. I saw he married and wondered if he had kids so I did a search on @archive.org
Oh, might as well add this info too. Was about his wife? Then suddenly it was after 2300. Bleh.
Oh, might as well add this info too. Was about his wife? Then suddenly it was after 2300. Bleh.
Okay MtBotany, stop researching Per Axel Rydberg and go to bed!
I swear I'm so easy to distract from minor things like sleep.
I swear I'm so easy to distract from minor things like sleep.
November 19, 2025 at 1:41 PM
What happened was this. I was working on a plant named for Rydberg and made a link to his article. I saw he married and wondered if he had kids so I did a search on @archive.org
Oh, might as well add this info too. Was about his wife? Then suddenly it was after 2300. Bleh.
Oh, might as well add this info too. Was about his wife? Then suddenly it was after 2300. Bleh.
Okay MtBotany, stop researching Per Axel Rydberg and go to bed!
I swear I'm so easy to distract from minor things like sleep.
I swear I'm so easy to distract from minor things like sleep.
November 19, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Okay MtBotany, stop researching Per Axel Rydberg and go to bed!
I swear I'm so easy to distract from minor things like sleep.
I swear I'm so easy to distract from minor things like sleep.
This is fun. I got a book in the mail from @naominovik.bsky.social
I'm over at the library starting it.
I'm over at the library starting it.
November 18, 2025 at 9:24 PM
This is fun. I got a book in the mail from @naominovik.bsky.social
I'm over at the library starting it.
I'm over at the library starting it.
What are my top 5 movie genres? In no particular order:
•Weird Dream (Green Knight, etc.)
•Gay Vampires (subtext or text)
•Sweet Animated (No downer ending)
•Grumpy but Nice Person (Up, etc.)
•Funny Misadventure (The Duke)
•Weird Dream (Green Knight, etc.)
•Gay Vampires (subtext or text)
•Sweet Animated (No downer ending)
•Grumpy but Nice Person (Up, etc.)
•Funny Misadventure (The Duke)
I don’t know if I have a top 5 movie genres but I definitely have a favorite and it’s:
- group of strangers are put into/wake up in an enclosed space they can’t leave and have to Figure It Out while also learning if the others are friends or enemies
- group of strangers are put into/wake up in an enclosed space they can’t leave and have to Figure It Out while also learning if the others are friends or enemies
What are your top 5 movie genres? Mine are:
-Two girls bond over evil
-Art drives people insane
-Australia is weird
-Everybody who died shows up at the end as ghosts and makes you cry
-Repo Man
-Two girls bond over evil
-Art drives people insane
-Australia is weird
-Everybody who died shows up at the end as ghosts and makes you cry
-Repo Man
November 16, 2025 at 11:01 PM
What are my top 5 movie genres? In no particular order:
•Weird Dream (Green Knight, etc.)
•Gay Vampires (subtext or text)
•Sweet Animated (No downer ending)
•Grumpy but Nice Person (Up, etc.)
•Funny Misadventure (The Duke)
•Weird Dream (Green Knight, etc.)
•Gay Vampires (subtext or text)
•Sweet Animated (No downer ending)
•Grumpy but Nice Person (Up, etc.)
•Funny Misadventure (The Duke)
This is why I go to the original source when possible! There was cultural information from an ethnobotany website cited in Wikipedia on the blue spruce article. Going to the original sources I got much more detail and an item missed on the website.
Yay research!
Yay research!
November 16, 2025 at 10:24 PM
This is why I go to the original source when possible! There was cultural information from an ethnobotany website cited in Wikipedia on the blue spruce article. Going to the original sources I got much more detail and an item missed on the website.
Yay research!
Yay research!
I so love black and white line drawings of plants. When I come across one in a scan of an out of copyright book I delight in adding them to Wikipedia.
Little pink elephant (Pedicularis groenlandica) from a 1909 book on the wildflowers of Colorado.
Little pink elephant (Pedicularis groenlandica) from a 1909 book on the wildflowers of Colorado.
November 16, 2025 at 4:48 PM
I so love black and white line drawings of plants. When I come across one in a scan of an out of copyright book I delight in adding them to Wikipedia.
Little pink elephant (Pedicularis groenlandica) from a 1909 book on the wildflowers of Colorado.
Little pink elephant (Pedicularis groenlandica) from a 1909 book on the wildflowers of Colorado.
This is what I want from a calendar. Celebration of seasonal plants and a few animals...
Mostly plants.
Mostly plants.
Today is Sextidi the 26th of Brumaire in the year 234.
Brumaire is the month of mist.
Today we celebrate pistachios.#JacobinDay
More information on pistachios
Brumaire is the month of mist.
Today we celebrate pistachios.#JacobinDay
More information on pistachios
November 16, 2025 at 1:16 AM
This is what I want from a calendar. Celebration of seasonal plants and a few animals...
Mostly plants.
Mostly plants.
Christmas Day is coming. Will you be ready to celebrate with MtBotany?
November 15, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Christmas Day is coming. Will you be ready to celebrate with MtBotany?
Okay MtBotany, you are already working on two big important article rewrites. Don't add a third. Finish up what you are working on first. The common sunflower can wait.
November 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Okay MtBotany, you are already working on two big important article rewrites. Don't add a third. Finish up what you are working on first. The common sunflower can wait.
Reposted by 🍂MtBotany
NEW on @indicator.media: A first *full-scale* comparison of Grokipedia v Wikipedia.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
Grokipedia cites a Nazi forum and fringe conspiracy websites
A site-wide comparison with Wikipedia sheds light on what Elon Musk is trying to do
indicator.media
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 PM
NEW on @indicator.media: A first *full-scale* comparison of Grokipedia v Wikipedia.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
Last week the awesome @harold.bsky.social rocked up to my desk bearing gifts.
Hal had collected almost all 900K Grokipedia entries and compared them to their Wikipedia equivalents for text and citation similarity.
Well, I went and fixed most of the problems I found with the article on western bistort. And was interested to learn that the species will grow at sea level on the Pacific Coast. Though apparently not reproducing by seed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistort...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistort...
November 13, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Well, I went and fixed most of the problems I found with the article on western bistort. And was interested to learn that the species will grow at sea level on the Pacific Coast. Though apparently not reproducing by seed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistort...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistort...
Well... I fulfilled a life list thing tonight. I saw the northern lights with my own eyes. It looked like everything to the north was on fire. Quite the show. Very much worth pausing Nature on PBS to go outside for some real life nature.
November 12, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Well... I fulfilled a life list thing tonight. I saw the northern lights with my own eyes. It looked like everything to the north was on fire. Quite the show. Very much worth pausing Nature on PBS to go outside for some real life nature.
The list of the largest genera of flowering plants relates an interesting idea that on the whole a genus tends to be smaller if described earlier.
Not proven science, but intriguing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Not proven science, but intriguing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
List of the largest genera of flowering plants - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:35 AM
The list of the largest genera of flowering plants relates an interesting idea that on the whole a genus tends to be smaller if described earlier.
Not proven science, but intriguing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Not proven science, but intriguing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Reposted by 🍂MtBotany
*laughs*
Now I'm getting bilingual autocorrect mistakes. Who knew learning a second language would cause such problems?
Now I'm getting bilingual autocorrect mistakes. Who knew learning a second language would cause such problems?
November 10, 2025 at 10:26 PM
*laughs*
Now I'm getting bilingual autocorrect mistakes. Who knew learning a second language would cause such problems?
Now I'm getting bilingual autocorrect mistakes. Who knew learning a second language would cause such problems?
Want to help Wikipedia but don't feel like you can get deep into research? Add alt text to images. It takes minimal coding and you just need to be able to do a simple description of the image.
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility/Alternative text for images - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 7, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Want to help Wikipedia but don't feel like you can get deep into research? Add alt text to images. It takes minimal coding and you just need to be able to do a simple description of the image.
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
Since Halloween month is over I'm back to a flower icon. Working on Rocky Mountain wildflowers again, as per usual today.
I am finally happy again with sidebells penstemon. I created the article 2.5 years ago and my writing has improved.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
I am finally happy again with sidebells penstemon. I created the article 2.5 years ago and my writing has improved.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
Penstemon secundiflorus - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Since Halloween month is over I'm back to a flower icon. Working on Rocky Mountain wildflowers again, as per usual today.
I am finally happy again with sidebells penstemon. I created the article 2.5 years ago and my writing has improved.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
I am finally happy again with sidebells penstemon. I created the article 2.5 years ago and my writing has improved.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penstem...
Okay, so vulture bees are a bit of a @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social subject. Bees that forage in corpses.
But as of this AM they illustrate the Wikipedia gaps. One of them is still a red link because we don't have enough insect editors.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture...
But as of this AM they illustrate the Wikipedia gaps. One of them is still a red link because we don't have enough insect editors.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture...
Vulture bee - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Okay, so vulture bees are a bit of a @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social subject. Bees that forage in corpses.
But as of this AM they illustrate the Wikipedia gaps. One of them is still a red link because we don't have enough insect editors.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture...
But as of this AM they illustrate the Wikipedia gaps. One of them is still a red link because we don't have enough insect editors.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulture...
Here is a solidly good article. Some problems have crept in over the years since Peter Coxhead, one of the most important plant editor on Wikipedia, worked on it in 2012, but overall a joy to read.
Though I deplore the use of cacti as a plural rather than cactuses.
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...
Though I deplore the use of cacti as a plural rather than cactuses.
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...
Cactus - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 3, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Here is a solidly good article. Some problems have crept in over the years since Peter Coxhead, one of the most important plant editor on Wikipedia, worked on it in 2012, but overall a joy to read.
Though I deplore the use of cacti as a plural rather than cactuses.
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...
Though I deplore the use of cacti as a plural rather than cactuses.
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...