Flowering Times in British Columbia

Our environment is constantly changing, and it is becoming more and more important to document where plants were grown and when they were in flower. This information can be used to create models that predict when a certain plant species may flower. Models such as this can be used to look at past adaptations of plants to specific climates, and could be useful in predicting how plants will be able to adapt in the future. Models such as these, done with more up-to-date climate data can be used to determine which species-interactions may need more conservation. 

From a recreational point-of-view, predicting when plants will be in flower will allow tourists a better chance to see rare plants in bloom, or whole ecosystems in flower.

In our analysis we have chosen the Fabaceae family, they constitute a large and important family of flowering plants. It is commonly known as the legume, pea, bean or pulse family.  It is the third largest family of flowering plants with over 730 genera and over 19,400 species. In British Columbia alone, there is around 150 species of Fabaceae. It is widely distributed throughout the world in many ecological settings, from deserts of high latitudes to seasonally dry and wet tropical forests of equatorial regions. The Fabaceae family is also very important in term of agriculture and economics, as it includes a large number of domesticated species harvested as crops for humans and animal consumption. Some of these highly important crops include beans, peas, soybeans, peanuts and alfalfa.