How to use VASCAN - Canadensys

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no"> <title>How to use VASCAN - Canadensys </title> <meta name="description" content="Canadensys makes Canadian biodiversity information available. We are a network of Canadian organizations publishing biodiversity occurrence data in an open and standard format.">  <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="/vascan/how-to/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="/fr/vascan/how-to/" />  <script> var pageLang = 'en'; var rootLang = 'en'; var basename = pageLang === rootLang ? undefined : pageLang; var languageSettings = {"en":{"label":"English","icon":null,"archive_permalink":"/news/","widgetLocale":"en","storiesLocale":"en-GB"},"fr":{"label":"Français","archive_permalink":"/fr/news/","widgetLocale":"fr","storiesLocale":"fr"}}; </script>   <script src="https://unpkg.com/react@17.0.1/umd/react.production.min.js"></script> <script>window.React || document.write('<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/17.0.1/umd/react.production.min.js">\x3C/script>')</script> <script src="https://unpkg.com/react-dom@17.0.1/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script> <script>window.ReactDOM || document.write('<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/17.0.1/umd/react-dom.production.min.js">\x3C/script>')</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/mapbox-gl/2.1.1/mapbox-gl.min.css" integrity="sha512-j4BKLk7HB2Umio2SKGP4gh1L3jouxJDuBxcWoq4kf1fYIkJyXQUGxs9me8yz2wexxAIHIcQHzn64UfPIG232xQ==" crossorigin="anonymous" /> <link rel='stylesheet' href='https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/openlayers/6.1.1/ol.min.css' />  <script type="text/javascript" src="https://react-components.gbif.org/lib/gbif-react-components.js?v=796d6d3f0f7e640ae6e22400a75ca60a"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/theme/js/config.js"></script>   <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/theme/css/main.css?v=1738954409"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/theme/css/font-awesome.min.css">  <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Canadensys - RSS feed" href="https://www.canadensys.net//feed.xml" >   <head> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png?v=1"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32x32.png?v=1"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/favicon-16x16.png?v=1"> <link rel="manifest" href="/site.webmanifest?v=1"> <link rel="mask-icon" href="/safari-pinned-tab.svg?v=1" color="#5bbad5"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico?v=1"> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#2b5797"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"> </head> </head> <body class=""> <nav class="navbar " role="navigation" aria-label="main navigation"> <div class="navbar-content"> <div class="navbar-brand"> <a class="navbar-item navbar-logo" href="/"> <img class="navbar-logo_img" src="/assets/logo/Canadensys-logo_red.png" alt="Canadensys - Home" height="28" /> <span class="navbar-logo_text">Canadensys</span> </a> <a role="button" id="navbarBurger" class="navbar-burger burger menu-toggle" aria-label="menu" aria-expanded="false" data-target="mainNavbar" > <span aria-hidden="true"></span> <span aria-hidden="true"></span> <span aria-hidden="true"></span> </a> </div> <div id="mainNavbar" class="navbar-menu"> <div class="navbar-start"> <a class="navbar-top-item navbar-item" href="/about" > About </a> <div class="navbar-top-item navbar-item has-dropdown is-hoverable"> <a class="navbar-link"> Data </a> <div class="navbar-dropdown"> <a href="/occurrence/search" class="navbar-item " > Occurrences </a> <a href="/collection/search" class="navbar-item " > Collections </a> <a href="/institution/search" class="navbar-item " > Institutions </a> <a href="/dataset/search" class="navbar-item " > Datasets </a> </div> </div> <div class="navbar-top-item navbar-item has-dropdown is-hoverable"> <a class="navbar-link"> Publish </a> <div class="navbar-dropdown"> <a href="/publish/ipt" class="navbar-item " > Data repository </a> <a href="/publish/introduction" class="navbar-item " > How to Publish </a> <a href="/publish/7-step-guide" class="navbar-item " > 7-step-guide </a> </div> </div> <div class="navbar-top-item navbar-item has-dropdown is-hoverable"> <a class="navbar-link"> Vascan </a> <div class="navbar-dropdown"> <a href="https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/" class="navbar-item " > VASCAN Name Search </a> <a href="https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/checklist" class="navbar-item " > Checklist Builder </a> <a href="/vascan/how-to" class="navbar-item " > How to use VASCAN </a> </div> </div> <div class="navbar-top-item navbar-item has-dropdown is-hoverable"> <a class="navbar-link"> Tools </a> <div class="navbar-dropdown"> <a href="https://data.canadensys.net/tools/coordinates" class="navbar-item " > Coordinates Conversion </a> <a href="https://data.canadensys.net/tools/dates" class="navbar-item " > Date Parsing </a> <a href="/tools/tools-api" class="navbar-item " > Tools API </a> </div> </div> <div class="navbar-top-item navbar-item has-dropdown is-hoverable"> <a class="navbar-link"> Resources </a> <div class="navbar-dropdown"> <a href="/resources/documents" class="navbar-item " > Documentation </a> <a href="/resources/othertools" class="navbar-item " > External tools </a> <a href="/resources/training" class="navbar-item " > Training material </a> </div> </div> <div class="navbar-top-item navbar-item has-dropdown is-hoverable"> <a class="navbar-link"> News </a> <div class="navbar-dropdown"> <a href="/news/" class="navbar-item " > Canadensys network </a> <a href="/stories" class="navbar-item " > GBIF </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="navbar-end"> <div class="navbar-item has-dropdown is-hoverable"> <div class="buttons language-selector"> <a class="button is-light"> <span>English</span> <span class="icon is-small"> <i class="fa fa-language"></i> </span> </a> <div class="navbar-dropdown is-right"> <a class="navbar-item js-language-option" data-locale="en" href="/vascan/how-to/"> English </a> <a class="navbar-item js-language-option" data-locale="fr" href="/fr/vascan/how-to/"> Français </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <main> <div> <section class="floatingHero hasWhiteText not-full-height overlay" style=" color: #00000055; height: auto; min-height: calc(70vh - var(--navbar-height)) ; "> <div class="feature-img" style=""> <picture> <source srcset="https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/q-BqW0ef3IcITNIft8b4iJv4LuE=/fit-in/2000x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 2000w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/UEO5OXiFJ3bTaaVypa2RCWqicAs=/fit-in/1600x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 1600w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/Ckg27xmFiIMYdlY6erGMmri7J1E=/fit-in/1200x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 1200w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/Mx3-59b2CDWrHeO1SaGfIxmq0nQ=/fit-in/1000x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 1000w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/LafBes5BMLMyFvTpgm5owA0bsbo=/fit-in/800x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 800w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/D3WqUfhe7pDaaEqKgBefWMWL8cc=/fit-in/500x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 500w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/A78nkOjXo-H-4_te41e6eDZABlE=/fit-in/10x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 10w" > <img src="https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/229323742/original.jpeg" alt="" srcset="https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/q-BqW0ef3IcITNIft8b4iJv4LuE=/fit-in/2000x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 2000w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/UEO5OXiFJ3bTaaVypa2RCWqicAs=/fit-in/1600x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 1600w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/Ckg27xmFiIMYdlY6erGMmri7J1E=/fit-in/1200x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 1200w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/Mx3-59b2CDWrHeO1SaGfIxmq0nQ=/fit-in/1000x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 1000w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/LafBes5BMLMyFvTpgm5owA0bsbo=/fit-in/800x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 800w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/D3WqUfhe7pDaaEqKgBefWMWL8cc=/fit-in/500x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 500w, https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/A78nkOjXo-H-4_te41e6eDZABlE=/fit-in/10x0/https%3A%2F%2Finaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fphotos%2F229323742%2Foriginal.jpeg 10w" /> </picture> <div class="feature-img-license"> <div class="feature-img-license-c"><span class="icon"><i class="fa fa-info-circle"></i></span> </div> <div class="feature-img-license-text"><p><em>Botrypus virginianus</em> (L.) Michx. observed in Canada by Braden J. Judson via <a href="https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/3903585417">iNaturalist</a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="feature-content "> <div class="feature-text"> <h3 class="feature-title"> <p>How to use VASCAN</p> </h3> </div> </div> </section> <script> document.gbifTocMaxDepth = 6; </script> <section> <div class="container"> <div class="article--toc"> <div> <div class="toc-wrapper toc__removeOnMobile "> <aside class="toc"> <div class="toc_header"> On this page </div> <div class="toc_list"> <ul> <li><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></li> <li><a href="#name-search">Name search</a></li> <li><a href="#checklist-builder">Checklist builder</a></li> <li><a href="#api">API</a> <ul> <li><a href="#search">Search</a> <ul> <li><a href="#parameter">Parameter</a></li> <li><a href="#response">Response</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#openrefine">OpenRefine</a></li> <li><a href="#r-project">R Project</a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#people">People</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> </div> <div class="article"> <div class="content"> <h1 id="introduction">Introduction</h1> <p>The Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN) is a comprehensive list of all vascular plants reported in Canada, Greenland and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, containing information related to each taxon, such as its distribution, taxonomy, synonyms and vernacular names, and a source for most of these elements. VASCAN is literature-based, though recent additions are sometimes specimen-based.</p> <p>We designed VASCAN to be as open as possible. As such, users can download the entire database or a subset through the checklist builder as Darwin Core Archives or flat text files. Users can also report and view issues with the data and interface in our open issue tracker.</p> <h1 id="name-search">Name search</h1> <p>Enter a scentific name or a vernacular name and the database will give you suggestions of corresponding names starting with the name you have entered. A search on “arte” will return “Artemisia”, but not “Two-parted sedge”.</p> <p>For each scientific name, several pieces of information are provided:</p> <ul> <li>Status of the species (accepted or synonym)</li> <li>Vernacular names, in French and English, with status of the vernacular name (accepted or synonym)</li> <li>Synonyms</li> <li>Distribution at the province level, with distribution status: <ul> <li><strong>Native</strong>: Taxon present as a result of natural processes only, without human agency.</li> <li><strong>Introduced</strong>: Taxon established (naturalized) in a region outside of its original range, as a result of human activity, either deliberate or accidental. Taxa are considered introduced in Canada when they became established after European colonization.</li> <li><strong>Ephemeral</strong>: Taxon not established permanently in the region, but recurring in the wild on a near-annual basis, usually from cultivation (e.g. wheat, tomato, etc.).</li> <li><strong>Excluded</strong>: Taxon reported from the region, but not established or erroneously determined.</li> <li><strong>Extirpated</strong>: Taxon native to the region, but currently considered eradicated. This status is only given after active search, and is usually determined by a conservation agency.</li> <li><strong>Doubtful</strong>: Taxon reported from the region by a source, but information not yet validated.</li> <li><strong>Absent</strong>: Taxon not reported from the region.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Classification</li> <li>Habit (tree, shrub, herb or vine)</li> </ul> <p><img src="/assets/images/Vascan-search.png" alt="" /></p> <h1 id="checklist-builder">Checklist builder</h1> <p>Interested to know which trees are native in Newfoundland, which genera are introduced in all of the prairies or which <em>Salix</em> species occur in British Columbia, but not in the rest of Canada? You can find out with the checklist builder, which allows you to combine a set of selection criteria (taxonomic group, habit, distribution, status or a combination of these) and display criteria (ranks to include, sort preference) to create your own customized checklist.</p> <p>Once the result answers your needs you can download the checklist as a simple tab delimited text file or as a standardized Darwin Core archive. The latter also includes the vernacular names and synonyms.</p> <p>The data are there to be used, which is why they are licensed under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA)</a>, allowing you to build upon our work. You can also download the full database as a Darwin Core archive.</p> <p><img src="/assets/images/Checklist-builder.png" alt="" /></p> <h1 id="api">API</h1> <h2 id="search">Search</h2> <p>The VASCAN Search API accepts GET and POST requests. The path contains an explicit version and the search resource accepts a parameter <strong>q</strong>. The value for <strong>q</strong> can be a scientific name, a vernacular name or a VASCAN taxon identifier (e.g., 861). It may be a single value for GET requests or multiple values (maximum 200) for POST requests, each separated by line breaks, \n. Scientific or vernacular names may optionally be preceded by your local identifier and a pipe, |. GET requests for JSON-based URIs may have an additional callback parameter for JSONP responses.</p> <div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/api/0.1/search.json OR http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/api/0.1/search.xml </code></pre></div></div> <h3 id="parameter">Parameter</h3> <p>Scientific name, vernacular name, or VASCAN taxon identifier.</p> <p><strong>e.g. ?q=Crataegus dodgei<br /> e.g. ?q=1004232|lowbush blueberry<br /> e.g. ?q=5031</strong></p> <h3 id="response">Response</h3> <div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>{ apiVersion: "0.1", lastUpdatedDate: "YYYY-MM-DD", results: [ { searchedTerm: "Crataegus dodgei", numMatches: 1, matches: [ { taxonID: 8673, scientificName: "Crataegus dodgei Ashe", scientificNameAuthorship: "Ashe", canonicalName: "Crataegus dodgei", taxonRank: "species", taxonomicAssertions: [ { acceptedNameUsage: "Crataegus dodgei Ashe", acceptedNameUsageID: 8673, nameAccordingTo: "FNA Editorial Committee. in prep. Flora of North America north of Mexico...etc", nameAccordingToID: "", taxonomicStatus: "accepted", parentNameUsageID: 2408, higherClassification: "Equisetopsida;Magnoliidae;Rosanae;Rosales;Rosaceae;Spiraeoideae;Pyreae;Crataegus;Crataegus sect. Coccineae;Crataegus ser. Rotundifoliae" } ], vernacularNames: [ { vernacularName: "aubépine de Dodge", language: "fr", source: "McMurray, S. & A. Lehela. 1999. Ontario Plant List - Digital Version 1.0...etc", preferredName: true }, { vernacularName: "Dodge's hawthorn", language: "en", source: "", preferredName: true }, { vernacularName: "aubépine jaunâtre", language: "fr", source: "Cuerrier, A. Proposition de nom français. (pers. comm.)", preferredName: false }, { vernacularName: "yellowish hawthorn", language: "en", source: "Anions, M., Director of Science, NatureServe Canada (pers. comm.)", preferredName: false }, { vernacularName: "yellowish Dodge's hawthorn", language: "en", source: "FNA Editorial Committee. in prep. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Volume 17...etc", preferredName: false } ], distribution: [ { locationID: "ISO 3166-2:CA-ON", locality: "ON", establishmentMeans: "native", occurrenceStatus: "native" }, { locationID: "ISO 3166-2:CA-QC", locality: "QC", establishmentMeans: "native", occurrenceStatus: "native" } ] } ] } ] } </code></pre></div></div> <h2 id="openrefine">OpenRefine</h2> <p>Use <a href="https://openrefine.org/">OpenRefine</a> to reconcile your scientific or vernacular names against VASCAN.</p> <div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/refine/0.1/reconcile </code></pre></div></div> <h2 id="r-project">R Project</h2> <p>Use <a href="https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/taxize/index.html">Taxize</a> to reconcile your scientific or vernacular names against VASCAN.</p> <div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/taxize/index.html </code></pre></div></div> <h1 id="people">People</h1> <p><strong><a href="https://irbv.umontreal.ca/le-personnel/luc-brouillet/">Luc Brouillet</a></strong>, <a href="https://irbv.umontreal.ca/institute/infrastructure/biodiversity-centre/?lang=en">Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre</a>, <a href="https://irbv.umontreal.ca/research/collections/marie-victorin-herbarium-mt/?lang=en">Marie-Victorin Herbarium (MT)</a> - Coordination and design, compilation of taxonomic and distribution data<br /> <strong>F. Coursol</strong>, Montréal Botanical Garden - Compilation of taxonomic and distribution data<br /> <strong>Susan Meades</strong>, <a href="http://www.northernontarioflora.ca/">Northern Ontario Plant Database</a> - Compilation of taxonomic data<br /> <strong>Marc Favreau</strong>, Translation Bureau (retired) - Compilation of French vernacular names<br /> <strong>Marilyn Anions</strong>, Botanist - Compilation of English vernacular names</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> </div> </main> <div class="terms-notice is-hidden" id="termsNotice"> <p>We use cookies on our website. Some are technically necessary, while others help us improve your user experience. You can decline non-essential cookies by selecting “Reject”. Please see our <a href="/privacy">Privacy Policy</a> for further information about our privacy practices and use of cookies.</p> <div style="margin-top: 8px"> <button class="button is-primary" onclick="gbif_acceptCookies();"> Accept </button> <button class="button is-error" onclick="gbif_rejectCookies();"> Reject </button> </div> </div> <footer> <div class="footer"> <div> <div class="lang-options"> <em>This page is available in the following languages:</em> <ul> <li> <a href="/vascan/how-to/" class="en" title="View in en">  English </a> </li> <li> <a href="/fr/vascan/how-to/" class="fr" title="View in fr">  Français </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div> <div class="footer-groups"> <div class="footer-column"> <p class="footer-column-name">Contact</p> <div class="footer-description"> <ul> <li>Biodiversity Centre</li> <li>4101 Sherbrooke Est</li> <li>Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada</li> <li><a href="mailto:canadensys.network@gmail.com">Contact Node manager</a></li> </ul> </div> <ul class="footer-online-list"> <li> <a href="https://github.com/Canadensys"> <span class="fa-stack fa-lg"> <i class="fa fa-circle fa-stack-2x"></i> <i class="fa fa-github fa-stack-1x fa-inverse"></i> </span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="footer-column"> <p class="footer-column-name">Code</p> <div class="footer-description"> <p>This project is open source. All files are available on <a href="https://github.com/gbif/hp-canadensys">GitHub</a>.</p> </div> </div> <div class="footer-column"> <p class="footer-column-name"></p> <div class="footer-description"> <p><a href="https://www.umontreal.ca/"><img src="/assets/logo/Logo_UdeM-bleu-RVB.png" alt="Université de Montréal" style="width: 150px; height: 54.51px" /></a> <a href="https://nature.ca/en/"><img src="/assets/logo/CMN_Masterbrand_EN_RGB.jpg" alt="Canadian Museum of Nature" style="width: 150px; height: 38.13px" /></a></p> </div> </div> <div class="footer-column"> <p class="footer-column-name"></p> <div class="footer-description"> <p><a href="https://www.gbif.org/participant/365"><img src="/assets/logo/pn-green-logo.png" alt="GBIF Node" style="width: 75px; height: 75px" /></a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="footer-hostedby"> <div><a href="https://gbif.org/hosted-portals"><img src="/assets/theme/img/hostedby.svg"/></a></div> </div> </footer> <script> ; var currentLocale = 'en'; </script> <script src="/assets/theme/js/script.js?v=1738954409"></script> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

How to use VASCAN - Canadensys