Society for Range Management

INTERNATIONAL RANGE PLANT IDENTIFICATION CONTEST

Eligibility

Individuals-Any undergraduate student in any regular university course of study may compete for individual honors. Team members will be automatically entered in the individual competition.

Source of Plant Specimens

Contest specimens-Plant specimens used for the contest will come from the SRM Range Plant Contest Herbarium. The chairman of the Plant Contest Subcommittee of the Student Affairs Committee is responsible for the herbarium. Specimens for the herbarium are supplied by universities that participate in the contest. Each year the universities are requested to supply specimens of the plants on their assigned collection list. However, a school may supply specimens of any of the plants on the master plant list. Each specimen sent to the contest herbarium must be mounted on standard herbarium paper (29 x 42 cm or 11 ½ by 16 ½ inches) with the name of the plant in the lower right hand corner. The identification of each specimen should be verified by a recognized taxonomist. The verification should be placed on each herbarium sheet. If possible, the stamp or seal of the authority or the herbarium employing the authority that verified the identification should be placed on each herbarium sheet.

Contest Procedure

1. A minimum of one hundred (100) plants, appearing on the master list, will be selected by the Plant Contest Subcommittee of the Student Affairs Committee.
2. Plant specimens will be mounted on standard (29 x 42 cm or 11 ½ x 16 ½ inches) herbarium paper. The specimens will not be covered with any protective material.
3. Each specimen must show sufficient characteristics to identify it. Plant team coaches will view the contest specimens beginning approximately thirty (30) minutes prior to the contest. A specimen may be removed from the contest if one-third (1/3) of the coaches present vote in favor or removing the specimen. Specimens should not be removed from the contest unless they are misidentified or lack sufficient characters for identification. If a specimen is removed from the contest, there will not be a vote on the replacement specimen.
4. Minimum distance between specimen sheets during the contest will be about fifty-six (56) cm or twenty-two (22) inches.
5. Contestants must be registered for the SRM annual meeting and wear the appropriate name-tag to enter the contest room.
6. Contestants will have fifty-five (55) seconds to write in the family or tribe and genus and specific epithet and to check the longevity and origin columns. Five (5) seconds will be allowed to move to the next plant. Total elapsed time per plant will be one (1) minute.
7. Contestants will have five (5) minutes at the end of the contest to check their papers. Contestants will not be allowed to look at a plant a second time.
8. There will be no restrictions to the number of duplicate mounts.
9. Contestants will not be permitted to handle the mounts. However, a hand lens may be used to assist in the identification of plants, but it can not touch the plant specimen during the test.
10. While the contest is in progress there shall be no conferring between contestants. Only the contestants and designated supervisors will be in the contest room during the contest.

Contest Scoring

1. The Plant Contest Subcommittee will score the contestants papers. The papers will not be returned to the coaches or students.
2. Scoring will be as follows:
   • Ten points are assigned to each plant as follows:

   Family or tribe	2
   Genus	3
   Specific epithet	3
   Longevity	1
   Origin	1
   Total	10

   • Family or tribe only correct is 2 points.
   • Genus only correct is 3 points.
   • Family or tribe and genus correct is 5 points.
   • Family or tribe, genus and specific epithet correct is 8 points.
   • Family or tribe, genus, specific epithet, and origin correct is 9 points.
   • Longevity will be scored separately and is not tied to genus and specific epithet.
   • The plant must be correctly identified as to genus to get credit for the specific epithet.
   • The plant must be correctly identified as to genus and specific epithet to get credit for origin.
   • One point will be deducted for each family or tribe, genus or specific epithet that is correctly identified but misspelled.
3. Individual contestant papers will be graded until 400 points have been missed. Grading will stop at that point and the individual will be given a score of less than 600 on the 1000 point contest.

Contest Awards

1. A rotating plaque will be awarded the first place team. This plaque becomes permanent property of the first school to win three times. The wins need not be in succession.
2. Team and individual awards will be given for the first five places. In the event of tie scores for team or individual places, duplicate awards will be given.
3. Plaques for permanent possession will be awarded to the first through fifth place teams.
4. The five highest scoring individuals will each be awarded a plaque for permanent possession.
5. Each contestant will receive a certificate.