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The Steward rule — lineages vote, not rows
A Firewise PDF is not automatically a new vote. The Steward rule is this site’s name for a fact the documents already state: one rater, one key, one lineage. The Fire Performance Plant Selector credits (Wayback, 24 February 2023) say Larry G. Steward of Ohio State ATI built the prototype and adapted University of Florida Circular 1453 for the East, and that the introduction was adapted from Ohio State Extension Bulletin 921 (2006), which Steward co-authored. Counting FPS and B921 as two lists would let one person outvote himself.
You are looking at a plant page with eight evidence rows and thinking eight lists agreed. Some of those rows may be the same Florida key, reprinted in Ohio, Virginia, and a dead selector website. Independent lineages vote. Copies do not.
Why it matters
Majority-direction only works if the votes are independent. A dozen PDFs descended from Circular 1453 look like consensus. They are one method walking around in different letterheads. Limited evidence and conflict both depend on that count being honest.
How it works
The opened FPS credits page is the join key:
- The method is Circular 1453 (Behm, Long, Monroe, Randall, Zipperer, Hermansen-Baez, 2004), originally USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, University of Florida, and NIST, adapted for northeastern dormancy.
- The prototype and plant-attribute data are Larry G. Steward, OSU Agricultural Technical Institute.
- The introduction is adapted from Ohio Bulletin 921, Firewise Landscaping (2006), Steward, Sydnor, and Kloss.
On this site those sources share lineage ufifas-srs-tree. They vote once. A internally split lineage votes for neither.
Idaho Firewise is not that lineage. Its 0–10 scores are a different program. That is why Vitis can carry an Idaho 8-of-10 and an FPS avoid as two votes.
The FPS introduction also says all plants burn, and that flammability has ignitability, sustainability, combustibility, and consumability. That is the method talking, not a second list.
The paths
| What you opened | How it votes |
|---|---|
| FPS + Ohio B921 + other Steward-key reprints | One ufifas-srs-tree lineage |
| Idaho Firewise 0–10 database | A separate lineage |
| White et al. 2002 cone calorimeter | Direct fire evidence, its own lineage; never silently outvoted |
| A list that points both ways | Neutral. Votes for neither |
What people mix up
- Counting every state PDF as a new scientific result.
- Treating FPS’s 1–4 Firewise rating and B921’s VL–VH table as independent because the scale names differ.
- Treating Idaho Firewise 8-of-10 as the same key as Circular 1453.
- Averaging reprints into a fake majority.
- Reading the Steward rule as a way to hide a lab.
How to check
- Open the plant page. Group rows by lineage, not by filename.
- Open the FPS credits. If Steward and Circular 1453 are in the credits, those descendants are one vote.
- Open a second program (Idaho Firewise, a cone-calorimeter paper) before you claim independent agreement.
- Read what limited evidence means and when the lab disagrees with the lists.
Limits
This page quotes the opened FPS credits and introduction on Wayback, and Idaho Firewise as a contrasting lineage. It does not re-open Circular 1453 or Bulletin 921 page-by-page this session. It does not decide a planting. Zone 0 is not a planting list.
Related records
- What limited evidence means
- Source-verbatim names and the Vitis record
- When the lab disagrees with the lists
- Methodology
Questions
Why don’t you count every Firewise PDF as a new vote?
Because many PDFs are the same rater, the same key, or a reprint. The FPS credits page names Larry G. Steward as the prototype author and says the introduction was adapted from Ohio Bulletin 921, which he co-authored. That is one lineage (ufifas-srs-tree on this site), not two independent lists.
What is Circular 1453?
The FPS credits page says the rating method is described in University of Florida Circular 1453, Behm, Long, Monroe, Randall, Zipperer, and Hermansen-Baez, 2004, Preparing a Firewise plant list for WUI residents. FPS adapted that southern key for northeastern dormancy.
Does the Steward rule hide disagreement?
No. Independent lineages still vote. A lab paper in a different lineage can conflict with a Steward-key list. Copies of the same key cannot manufacture a majority.
Is Idaho Firewise the same lineage?
No. Idaho Firewise’s master database is a separate program with its own 0–10 scores. That is why Vitis spp. can take an Idaho 8-of-10 and an FPS avoid row as two lineages, not twelve reprints.
Does this approve a plant?
No. This site does not approve plants. The rule is how we refuse to let one rater outvote themselves.