Home / Guides / How to read a record / How to read a plant page
How to read a plant page
A plant page is not a listing. The banner is a computed status. The rows under The evidence are the votes. How to read a listing is the materials sibling: a test method is not a listing, and a listing is not adopted code. This page is the plant sibling: a Firewise PDF is not a lab, a reprint is not a second lineage, and on-list is not fireproof.
You are on Vitis looking at Documented conflict and at a chip that says 8 of 10, and wondering which one “wins.” Neither is deleted. Open the rows.
Why it matters
If you read only the banner, you miss the fight. If you count every PDF as a new vote, you invent a majority. If you “fix” verdictRaw, a condemning list can vanish. Methodology is the rule. The plant page is where it shows.
How it works
Walk Vitis top to bottom.
1. The banner. Labels come from recommendation:
| Banner | What it means |
|---|---|
| Fire-resistant | On-list. Independent lineages recommended it |
| Keep away | Avoid. Independent lineages condemned it |
| Documented conflict | Lineages disagree, or lab dissent cannot be silently outvoted |
| Awaiting evidence | Candidate. No directional primary verdict yet |
Vitis currently computes as conflict (ratingReason: disputed). The page also prints Computed class: Mixed evidence. That class is derived. It is not a third grade between on-list and avoid.
2. The tally chips. Each chip is one independent Tier-1 lineage and a direction (recommend, avoid, split, or mid-scale). A “fire-tested” mark means that lineage is lab, field-trial, or post-fire evidence. Copies of the same rater share a chip. See the Steward rule.
3. The evidence groups. Rows are grouped as Recommends, Avoids, Mid-scale / conditional, or Listed without a rating. Primary evidence rated the plant. Corroboration republished someone else and resolves to the root.
4. verdictRaw. The quoted sentence on each row is the source’s letters. Idaho Firewise on Vitis is stored as fire-resistance score 8 of 10. An FPS typo stays in verdictRaw so it cannot drop a lineage. See source-verbatim names.
5. original. If a row names another source as original, it is a reprint. It does not vote twice. On Amelanchier laevis, the NCSU row is stored with original: bardon-2005.
6. Placement. “Where its sources say to plant it” keeps each list’s own scheme (Idaho 30 feet, FPS LZ2, B921 Zone 3). Those distances are not translated into one scale, and none of them is Zone 0.
7. Invasive warning. If it appears, a fire rating does not override it.
8. The local evidence lens. Read it as separate questions, in order:
| Dimension | What a positive row establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| State distribution | The source documents current occurrence in the state | Native status, hardiness, or a recommendation |
| Native range | A current cited source names the state as native range | Fire performance or permission to plant |
| Introduced / established | A source names the state as introduced or established | An invasive warning by itself |
| USDA hardiness | The selected source statement can be compared with the ZIP’s USDA zone | A fire rating, water advice, or local approval |
| Reported invasive here | An exact-state ecological row names the plant | A legal prohibition |
| Legal-list status — for example, Prohibited here or Regulated here | An exact-state legal-list row names the plant, authority, and exact designation | Ecological severity or a permit decision |
| Regional / federal context | A broader source applies at its own grain | An exact-state finding |
A minimum hardiness value is a cold threshold, not a one-zone range and not an invented maximum. Different compatible source ranges stay separate as overlapping. Applicable source ranges with no shared zone stay conflicting, with no primary range chosen. Compare Acer circinatum and Aronia melanocarpa.
9. Fire conditions and FEIS. A green, irrigated, cured, or dead condition belongs to the cited fire-evidence row. It never becomes horticultural maintenance advice. FEIS context is another distinct layer: exact-taxon, section-reviewed statements about ecosystem or fuels, immediate fire effects, postfire response, management, or invasive–fire feedback. On Arundo donax, the linked USDA Forest Service review remains context only and never casts another recommendation vote.
The same chrome on Salvia rosmarinus is why conflict stays visible instead of averaging 5 feet and 30 feet. See why rosemary is disputed.
The paths
| What you see | What to do | What not to do |
|---|---|---|
| Banner Fire-resistant | Read the chips and the recommend rows | Treat it as fireproof or as Zone 0 |
| Banner Keep away | Read the avoid rows | Treat it as a criminal ban |
| Banner Documented conflict | Read both directions | Average them |
| Banner Awaiting evidence | Read limited evidence if a single lineage classified it; candidate is thinner still | Invent a third recommendation grade |
| Chip with a reprint’s filename | Group by lineage | Count eight PDFs as eight votes |
verdictRaw that looks misspelled | Leave it; join by ids | Quietly correct and drop the row |
original: on a row | One vote at the root | A second independent list |
| Alternatives cards | Other on-list plants of the same form | A permit to plant those in Zone 0 |
What people mix up
- The banner as a hand-assigned FireApproved grade.
- Fire-resistant on a plant page as an OSFM listing.
- Counting every evidence row as a lineage.
- Averaging conflict.
- Treating limited-evidence as unrated.
- Treating candidate (awaiting evidence) as limited-evidence. Candidate means no directional primary verdict yet.
- Reading placement schemes as Zone 0.
- This guide as a reprint of how to read a listing.
How to check
- Open a plant page. Name the banner label.
- Count chips, not filenames.
- Open one row. Read
verdictRawin the quoted line. Iforiginalis present, it resolves to the root. - Open methodology if you need the tally rule in prose.
- For materials, switch to how to read a listing. Confirm the model number there. Confirm the taxon here.
Limits
This page walks the plant-page chrome and quotes the stored Vitis Idaho Firewise 8-of-10 row. It does not re-open every Vitis or rosemary lineage. It does not reprint 161 cards. It does not decide a planting. Zone 0 is not a planting list.
Related records
- Vitis
- Salvia rosmarinus
- How to read a listing
- What limited evidence means
- The Steward rule
- Methodology
Questions
Is the banner a FireApproved rating?
No. The banner label (Fire-resistant, Keep away, Documented conflict, Awaiting evidence) is computed from independent Tier-1 lineages by a published rule. It is never hand-assigned.
What are the chips under the banner?
Each chip is one independent primary-evidence lineage and its direction. A reprint does not get its own chip. A lineage that points both ways is split and votes for neither.
What is verdictRaw?
The source’s own words or score, stored as spelled. On Vitis, Idaho Firewise is stored as fire-resistance score 8 of 10. We do not rewrite that into Firewise (1).
What does original mean on a row?
The row is a reprint. It resolves to the root lineage named in original. It does not add a second vote.
Is this the same as how to read a listing?
No. A listing is a named model on a listing body’s current record. A plant page is evidence about a taxon. Do not treat on-list as an OSFM listing ID.
Does documented in my state mean native or suitable for my ZIP?
No. Distribution, native or introduced range, and USDA hardiness answer separate questions. A ZIP adds a hardiness comparison; it does not create a planting approval.
Does no invasive or legal-list row mean the plant is clear?
No. Exact-state ecological reports, exact-state legal records, broader regional context, and source silence remain separate. Missing evidence is not clearance.
Does FEIS fire ecology change the fire-resistant banner?
No. Section-reviewed FEIS context can describe fuels, immediate effects, postfire response, management, or invasive–fire feedback. It never votes in the computed plant classification.