Great article. Dark green does not mean native (to the county), but that the species is native somewhere in that state. I agree BONAP can be hard to interpret and I was confused too, so I contacted them and here is what I found out:
dark green: not known in that county, but recorded wild somewhere in that state and is native to some counties in that state;
bright green: native, indigenous, has been recorded in the wild and is naturally occurring in that county;
teal: native, but not indigenous, has been introduced in that county;
yellow: rare native in that county;
orange: historic native in that county;
red: presumed extinct native in that county;
other colors: not native to that county (except, pink/magenta can be either noxious native or exotic).
Great article. Dark green does not mean native (to the county), but that the species is native somewhere in that state. I agree BONAP can be hard to interpret and I was confused too, so I contacted them and here is what I found out:
dark green: not known in that county, but recorded wild somewhere in that state and is native to some counties in that state;
bright green: native, indigenous, has been recorded in the wild and is naturally occurring in that county;
teal: native, but not indigenous, has been introduced in that county;
yellow: rare native in that county;
orange: historic native in that county;
red: presumed extinct native in that county;
other colors: not native to that county (except, pink/magenta can be either noxious native or exotic).
This is a very helpful explanation. Thank you for pursuing and sharing it, Darlene!