User:Dracophyllum/A guide to writing articles on New Zealand plants

A world of infinite wonders awaits...

The flora of New Zealand has been developed by New Zealand's long isolation, with many species from Australia and South America arriving through long distance dispersal and becoming wonderfully unique over time. From the tropical forests of Northland, with the towering Kauri, to the otherworldly plains of Mount Tongariro; from the tussock clad mountain tops of the Kahurangi, to the dense, rainy bush of Fiordland, New Zealand's natural environment and its plants are constantly awe inspiring. Improving their coverage on Wikipedia is one way to help conservation efforts and raise the level of understanding of our flora; here's how to do it.

Isn't everything already written?

No. Not even close. There are barely any articles on New Zealand plants and most of them are low quality and only a sentence long. You could try the red links over at Brachyglottis or another genus. Even famous plants like Podocarpus totara are in a terrible state.

First steps

An example infobox image

The first step for any NZ plant article is to look it up on the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, a non-profit which maintains a database containing the key information you'll need. Next I'd reccoomend you spend some time messing around in your sandbox and having a look at some of the rules you'll have to follow. Most notably: citations inline, like this, from reliable sources (I'll discuss what those are later). It's easiest if you new to editing to start with visual editor (clicking edit instead of edit source), which will allow to get most functionality while still just feeling like a text editor. Once you've had a read of the NZPCN page and feel you've gotten the hang of editing, you can either create an article through afc (articles for creation), or just write it directly into mainspace (normal Wikipedia). If you're confident enough I wouldn't bother with afc – especially since notability guidelines are never going to apply to you (all species are notable). So next you'll want to go into the search bar and type the scientific name of the species, this will almost always be the correct title, and you should see "You may create the page "Example", but consider checking the search results below to see whether the topic is already covered." Click that and you're ready to begin writing. Alternatively you can create it in your sandbox, then skip afc by pasting into mainspace – your choice.

This first thing I always do is insert a speciesbox (the infoboxes on the right of the article), which can be done by going insert > template > (search for "speciesbox") > then fill in the relevant sections. For the authority, type the little signature (after the species name) that you see under the "Authority" section on NZPCN. The next thing is to hunt for an image. First step is to see if there is one already on commons, which is where the images on Wikipedia are hosted. There likely isn't going to be one so you'll next have to take a trip over to inaturalist and search the species there. Click on the name of the species which will take you to its page. You should see a main photo with a button that says "see more" under it; click it. This will take you to the photos page where you should sort by either Attribution, Attribution-Share Alike, or No copyright, which are the three licences used on commons. Click the plus on the image you like and press the small "i." Next, open the original photo in another tab and save it to your computer. Swing over to commons and follow their easy upload process and bam, a clean image for your infobox. The last thing you'll want for your infobox is the conservation status which is listed over at NZTCS (most plants outside of a few famous ones are not on IUCN), which you can insert by editing the infobox. You'll need to put the code for the status in, NU, for example, is Naturally Uncommon.

Research

You'll need to get reliable sources other than just the NZPCN for your article, especially since you'll need to fill at least most of the sections listed and described here. For your first section, titled "description," you can usually just use NZPCN, though you may find fuller descriptions elsewhere. Places to look include the New Zealand Journal of Botany, the New Zealand Journal of Ecology (For ecology sections), as well as on your search engine of choice. It is usually best to put the scientific name in "speech marks" to search for just it. Other places you can look include: JSTOR and in the Wikipedia Library search function, which is very powerful (though you need 500 edits and 6 months to get access to it). If you ever find a source you can't get access to ask at the Resource Exchange, where you should be able to get everything pretty quickly. I also recommend have a look through the Internet Archive, Google Scholar, and also NZOR and IPNI or POWO for taxonomic stuff. Sources for traditional Māori cultural uses can be found at landcare research.

Developing the article

This template from wikiproject plants should help you set out the layout of your article as well as what to include in each section.

Things you might run into

• The Glossary of Botanical terms will be your guide through the night of botanical jargon – Wikipedia must be able to be read by lay people, so always "translate" it into normal English (when you can). This'll also help you avoid copyright concerns.
• Sometimes you'll need to find a botanist from their "signature," I recommend searching, for example, "Hook.f. botanist" which should hopefully yield what you want. A common one is W.R.B Oliver, which is Walter Oliver.
• If you need to know how to do something, just search "wp:" and then some variations on what you need; a help page should come up.
• In general it's best to be BOLD, revert, and then discuss. Don't bother making a big deal on the talk page or writing some proposal – just do it first and chances are it was a net positive and a good contribution. If it wasn't someone will revert you and you can discuss it with them on the talk page.
• All species are notable for a Wikipedia article, but the same is not always true for varieties, subspecies, and cultivars unless they each meet Notability, which is very unlikely. They can be included in a section within the main article.
• Ask for help! Go to the talk pages of users you see editing plant articles and ask them a question, go on the WikiProject Plants talk page and ask there. Do not try and figure it all out yourself.
• Some things may be very academic, for which you'll need to spend some time searching the concepts up so you can explain them – again, ask someone.
• Everything below the rank of family is Italicized, above and including family is not.
• The start of the article should always read: "Taxon name is a species of plant" not, "Taxon name is the name of a species of plant"
• Up to (and including) B class, you may assess your own articles. Easiest to use Rater, following these guidelines, and remember to do both Wikiproject Plants, and Wikiproject New Zealand.

Higher quality levels may at first seem far above, but soon they become routine.

Getting it to GA

Read through the criteria and then follow the steps listed there. Generally a plant GA, some of which are listed here, includes all the need sections, almost all the available and notable info, and has good citations for everything. By good citation I mean one that is recognised as a reliable source, such as the ones I listed in the Research section. You'll submit your nomination and eventually someone will volunteer to review it. Make sure you change and then respond to all their comments. Your first GA may be a little scary, but after that it's easy. Plant GAs from New Zealand include: Cordyline australis, Dracophyllum traversii, and kahikatea. You'll notice they don't need to be perfect or include absolutely all the information – that you'll need for FA.

Getting it to FA

Plant FAs are listed here, most are from the (Australian) genus Banksia. This process is much harder to pass and usually takes around a month. Multiple people will take turns reviewing your article and at this level your writing needs to read well and follow the criteria. The only New Zealand plant FA as of October 2021 is Dracophyllum fiordense.