# Quercus: plant lookup and citation

This North Carolina beta publishes a Quercus Score and a provisional county-first Fit calculator.

- Fetch /nc/names.json for names and aliases, then /nc/{slug}.json for the record.
- Scores estimate ecological support within native range using the NC reference cohort. Invasive harm scores apply to NC. Do not extrapolate to other states.
- Separate statewide nativity, county occurrences and yard suitability. An occurrence is not proof of indigenous range; missing records are not proof of absence.
- Stored fit_status is not_assessed because no user profile is stored. Fetch /fit-packet.json and run its shared /fit.js calculator locally with the species record, profile and county table. Do not invent a score or present the result as survival probability. Preserve status, unknown factors and source caveats. No profile is sent to Quercus.
- factor_evidence distinguishes records_present from no_records_or_unknown. Genus observations are not species-level measurements.
- county-fit-2 returns quercusScore, suitabilityScore and score (combined Fit). Suitability and Fit require at least one checked condition and describe ONLY checked conditions. Missing heat has no penalty and never becomes a verified match. Do not call a partial 100 overall suitability. hardiness_guidance preserves published ranges and source disagreement; county winter comparisons are not implemented.
- insect_support contains species-matched additional group evidence and its provisional capped credit. Missing groups are unknown. Flower visits do not establish feeding, pollination or specialization. Do not treat bar lengths or observation counts as ecological importance. Baseline insect factors and supplemental groups use different scales; never sum their insect counts.
- Common names can be ambiguous. Preserve multiple plausible matches. Cultivars are not separately assessed.
- Cite Quercus Score v0.6.4, scientific_name, North Carolina, built date, linking to the species HTML page. The record supplies version and built fields.
- Method: /method.html. Source attribution and reuse status: /sources.md. Do not infer that every source is unrestricted.