The Spreadsheet
Using The Spreadsheet
Every record in the spreadsheet tab labeled “The species” corresponds to a taxon listed in Barton’s 1818 flora, with the exception of duplicate entries, as explained below. Users can search for a species by its modern scientific or common names, provided in the first two columns of the spreadsheet. Users can also search and sort by additional columns that provide the species’ nativity status, relative to Philadelphia, according to The Biota of North America Program (BONAP), as well as data from several additional contemporary sources (all detailed in the spreadsheet tab labeled “Column definitions”).
The Species Tab
Column G
“Lepidopteran species richness (Narango),” may be of particular interest to users as it captures the number of Lepidoptera species (moths, butterflies and skippers) that a given plant genus has been documented to host in Pennsylvania. This serves as a useful proxy for a species’ role in supporting the local ecosystem.
Columns H - O
Columns H – O, highlighted in blue, contain the original data from Barton’s flora. The column labeled “Narrative description” is often particularly interesting and useful, frequently offering a detailed description of a taxon’s distribution and habitat as of 1818.
Columns W - AE
In certain instances, multiple taxa described by Barton are now classified under a single species name. In such cases, duplicate records are eliminated, but Barton’s descriptive data for those duplicates is preserved and added in Columns W - AE.
Maps Tab
In his plant distribution descriptions, Barton often mentions a small set of key landmarks, some of which still exist today. To help users better understand these descriptions, the spreadsheet tab labeled “Maps” pinpoints these landmarks on a map of the area. Additionally, it includes geological information from Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which can be valuable for determining suitable planting locations and conditions. The tab also provides descriptions of the different bedrock types in the region.
Notes Tab
The spreadsheet tab labeled “Notes” includes several pertinent notes made by Barton in the preface or within the text. It also contains a list of taxa referenced by Barton, typically in the indices, but not included in the main body of the text (and therefore not included in the spreadsheet). Additionally, it lists several other taxa excluded from the spreadsheet for various reasons, as explained in the notes.
Sources Tab
Users are strongly encouraged to perform their own additional research on the taxa listed by Barton, and the sources provided in the spreadsheet’s “Sources” tab are a good starting point. An asterisk (*) appended to the scientific name in column A denotes a Barton taxon whose contemporary synonym was particularly difficult to ascertain. Users may want to exercise particular caution in interpreting these entries.
As Wherry (1968) observed, some of Barton’s observations are curious, especially the abundance of species he recorded that appear to be substantially north of their known range limits. Those may be due to mis-identification, but users are encouraged to interpret those anomalous results for themselves.
Download the Spreadsheet
Download a digitized and updated version of William P. C. Barton’s classic text, “Compendium florae philadelphicae: containing a description of the indigenous and naturalized plants found within a circuit of ten miles around Philadelphia.”
OR
Please do not distribute edited versions of the file. Thank you!
