CNPS

CNPS Rare Plant Inventory

Release Notes

Online edition: v9.5.1

Highlights of changes from the previous version

This version is focused on bug fixes and User Interface changes to enhance Quality and User Experience, including:

Search Engine Optimization Changes

  • Added metadata tags to ensure copied links and RPI page URLs are displayed properly when pasted into online services
  • Added dynamically generated site index files to ensure RPI pages are included in the results of Google searches for plant names

Advanced Search Changes

  • The collapsible panels on the Advanced Search page are now fixed open to address user experience issues and compatibility with some browsers
  • For elevation range searches, the default search type is now Overlaps. Thus, if any part of a taxon's elevation range is within the range specified by the elevation search parameters, the taxon will be included in the search results. Accordingly, the search type Between is now an optional special case that returns only taxa whose elevation range is completely within the low and high elevation search parameters
    • • Considered But Rejected (CBR) taxa are excluded from search results, unless the CBR option is specifically selected
  • The Habitat search options now include an 'Any' option
  • A new Rare Plant Rank Option named Postponed (PPD) has been added

Simple Search Changes

  • Considered But Rejected (CBR) ranked taxa are excluded from search results, unless the CBR option is specifically selected
  • A new Rare Plant Rank Option named Postponed (PPD) has been added
  • A search parameter for Endemic to California has been added as a check box
  • The Yes/No buttons for the Endemic to islands parameter has beeeen changed to a checkbox since a no option did not correspond to the data.

Details Page changes

  • The previous version had two different pages for plant details. Most plants had a full Details page (named Details), whereas CBR and Synonym plants had an abbreviated details page (named oDetails). All plant details are now displayed on one page (Details) that adaptively displays full or abbreviated content depending upon the plant taxon’s CRPR or synonym status. This ensures that all plant detail links end in a consistent page name.
  • Changed the Copy Link button on the Plant Details page to copy a link using the plant taxon name instead of its internal taxon id number.
  • The Taxon Report has been reformatted into an html page that can be easily saved to a pdf file by using your browser's built-in print to pdf function.
  • We added a link to iNaturalist

Updated Site Menu

  • You can now search by species or keyword in the site header menu from any page.
  • We have added a link for Professional Subscribers to the About menu and a Donate button.
  • We updated the help menu with links to an RPI How to Video and our CNPS stories page.

Home page Changes

  • The home page now includes a new Featured Rare Plant box to help users discover other rare plants they may not be familiar with.
  • We have added links to Status Review Change Documents and Propose Status Change form below the Additions / Changes/ Deletions box.
  • We have added links to the Status Review Forum and Reviewer Signup form below the Currently in Review box.

Status and Name Changes

  • The Name Changes section has been updated to dynamically list name changes that are linked to associated name change references and documents.

Potential SCC Changes

  • The list hss been reviewed and updated to reflect changes in names and inclusion as an SCC
  • Document links updated for all that were previously “pending”

Other Changes

  • Fixed broken links to Reference documents
  • Fixed a problem where the Copy link button on the Plant Details page and Search Results page did not function.
  • Fixed a bug that when performing Endemic searches, the criteria on the Search Results page displayed CA Indigenous is True.
  • Fixed a variety of Grammatical errors in the Glossary and release notes for V 9.5
  • Packages that became vulnerable or deprecated are upgraded or removed to maintain security

Online edition: v9.5

Highlights of changes from the previous version

  • New Home Page
    • The Home Page has been re-designed to include a new photo, text, and search area
  • New Synonym/OtherName Page
    • Selecting a plant that is a synonym or other name no longer automatically re-directs to the current plant page. Instead, an abbreviated details page is displayed to better indicate the selected plant is a synonym or other name
  • New Advanced Search options
    • Search by Elevation includes option for between or overlapping ranges
    • Search by Microhabitat
    • Search by plant threats from CNDDB data
    • Search by plants occurring on specific California islands
  • Search by CNDDB Other Statuses
    • BLM Sensitive
    • USFS Sensitive
    • IUCN Red List Status
    • Plants with seeds banked at California Plant Rescue Institutions
  • Advanced Search Page Changes
    • Sections are now collapsed when page loads to make finding the right section faster
    • Map scroll wheel has been disabled to eliminate accidental map activation when scrolling down the page using the mouse wheel. Using the scroll-wheel on the map now requires holding the Shift key
    • Changed sort order of Habitat and Microhabitat to Alphabetic
    • "Indigenous to Islands" renamed to "Endemic to Islands" and the checkbox now searches for plants that only occur on islands (i.e. no mainland occurrences)
  • Search Result Page Changes
    • Search Result page now has optional columns for microhabitat and CNDDB Other Status
    • Button to copy page URL to your clipboard - for saving and sharing search results
    • Search result export file name renamed to "RPI_SearchResults_yy-mm-dd.csv"
  • Plant Detail Page Updates
    • New Additions:
      • CNDDB threats, totals and percentages
      • Microhabitats
    • Revisions
      • Quad and County Map Improved with base map options
      • Improved listing of synonyms/other names
      • Button to copy page URL to your clipboard - for saving or sharing plant details
      • Updated Taxon Report with CNDDB threat calculations
      • Plant Taxon Report renamed "RPI_TaxonReport_ScientificName_yyyy-mm-dd.pdf"
  • Search result exports contain microhabitat, CNDDB other status info and CNDDB threats
  • Plant Reports reformatted and contain microhabitat, CNDDB other status info and CNDDB threats
  • New QueryString options for microhabitat, BLM Sensitive, USFS Sensitive, IUCN Red List, Seed Bank status and Threats
  • Miscellaneous changes, User interface enhancements, and bug fixes

Online edition: v9-01 1.5

Highlights of changes from the previous version

  • New Potential Species of Conservation Concern documents and page!
  • Plant Reference Documents! Applicable plants now have references with associated status change documents.
  • The Plant Detail Page now includes a link to Jepson eFlora.
  • Plants that have associated photos now include photos on the Plant Detail Report PDF.
  • Search Result exports have additional note fields.
  • Miscelleneous User Interface changes and fixes.

Online edition: v9-01 1.0

Highlights of changes from the previous version

  • The Advanced Search map now includes a Nine-Quad search option.
  • The Advanced Search map now includes a search box for locating a particular city or street address.
  • Advanced Search now includes options for searching by Global Subspecies Rank.
  • Advanced Search now supports searches for Federally Delisted, State Candidate Endangered, State Candidate Threatened, and State Delisted plants.
  • All searches now display a result page containing a URL with querystring values to match Version 8 results.
    These URLs can be saved as bookmarks in your browser and reloaded to automatically perform a search and display the results.
  • Links saved in the previous Inventory version (Version 8) are also supported.
  • This version now supports a direct link to a particular plant's detail page using the taxon querystring with a scientific name.
    (i.e. /plants/details?taxon=Enceliopsis+covillei)
  • Printing search results produces cleaner output with no page header and table headers no longer repeat on subsequent pages.
  • Citations on the home, plant details, and search results pages are dynamically generated with the current RPI version number and current access date.
  • The Help page has been updated to add habitat abbreviations and a link to documentation on how to use QueryStrings in search result URLs.
  • The Glossary page has been updated to add habitat abbreviations that can be used in QueryString searches.

Online edition: v9-01 0.0

Highlights of changes from the previous online version

  • Mobile friendly – Take the Online Inventory with you!
  • Full data search bar is now included at the top menu on every page for quick access to make new searches.
  • Easier to access links and a new Download Report function for every plant’s details.
  • Intuitive search display: add or remove columns by button clicking, single-click column sorting, and simple drag and drop column re-ordering.
  • New “Other Status” section includes information imported from the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) on seeds that have been banked as part of the California Plant Rescue initiative, BLM Sensitive, US Forest Service Sensitive, and IUCN Red List.
  • Maps are back and selecting quads on a map in Advanced Search has never been easier!
  • Regular imports of rare plant quads and counties from the CNDDB, including updated quads and counties for all CRPR 3 and 4 plants.
  • New Help page describes how to search and view data.
  • Fully updated Glossary - all data fields are now fully described.
  • Completely new Status Review Documents page! Download PDF copies of CNPS status reviews published since 2003.
  • Three plant photos instead of one
Suggested Citation:
California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 5 January 2025].
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