{"assessment":{"band":"Good","factor_identity":{"basis":"source accepted identity; genus-level evidence","growth_habit_source":"USDA PLANTS","name_used":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans"},"factor_scopes":{"bees":"Southeastern North America","birds":"North America","caterpillars":"Host genera of native Lepidoptera with established Virginia range; association and range overlap, not confirmed local feeding.","specialists":"Eastern North America","structure":"USDA species growth habit where matched; otherwise sourced atlas growth habit"},"factors":{"applied_insect_credit":0,"baseline_score":36,"composite":0.572,"insect_support":{"credit":0,"groups":{"ants":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Ants","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"beetles":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Beetles","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"flies":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Flies","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"moths_butterflies":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Adult butterflies / moths","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"other_hymenoptera":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Other wasps","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"},"other_insects":{"credit":0,"flower_visits":[],"label":"Other insects","recorded_name_count":null,"recorded_names":[],"seed_interactions":[],"status":"unknown"}},"interpretation":"One provisional point per additional documented insect group, capped at five. Flower visits are a resource-use proxy, not confirmed feeding or pollination. Missing evidence is unknown. Study volume and repeated records earn no extra credit.","maximum_credit":5,"version":"insect-support-1"},"pct":{"bees":0.847394540942928,"birds":0.303970223325062,"caterpillars":0.40260545905707196,"specialists":0.890818858560794},"rank_pct":0.359,"raw":{"bees":13,"birds":0,"caterpillars":1,"genus_used":null,"specialists":1,"structure":null}},"fit_score":null,"native_basis":"native_supported","rarity_adjustment":0,"rarity_policy":"Conservation status is displayed separately and never changes ecological scores, including when unranked.","reason":"Calculated with the shared rules using Virginia host-range and shared ecological evidence.","reference":"NC native reference cohort, method 0.6.4; not a Virginia percentile","score":36,"scoring_inputs":{"harm_penalty":0,"invasive":false,"invasive_rank":null,"native":true,"state_rank":"S1"},"source_ids":["lep_va","globi","bigbee","avian","usdahabit","robertson","antseed"],"status":"scored_provisional","version":"shared-0.6.5"},"condition_evidence":{"light":{"evidence_id":"fact:3712f6980c588a0709f1e1334305e412236cce49a572f692acce394d7cc0119b","levels":[4],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-2","range":[4,4],"scope":{"kind":"region","region_id":"floraquest_nc_sc_ga"},"semantics":"documented_native_habitat_conditions","source_field":"habitat_light_categories","source_label":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","source_url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emountainworks.android.southeastfieldguide","status":"mapped_selected_fact"},"moisture":{"evidence_id":"fact:38185891edbbee17ff80b166d8b5f9c97b0b42783477751771381773d81f1d21","levels":[0],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-2","range":[0,0],"scope":{"kind":"region","region_id":"floraquest_nc_sc_ga"},"semantics":"documented_native_habitat_conditions","source_field":"habitat_moisture_categories","source_label":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","source_url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emountainworks.android.southeastfieldguide","status":"mapped_selected_fact"}},"evidence":{"fit_score":null,"growth_habit":null,"invasive_status":{"status":"unresolved"},"native_status":{"status":"native_supported"},"occurrence":{"county_fips":["51105"],"meaning":"Recorded occurrence; not a county native-range assertion"},"quercus_score":null,"regional":{"county_fips":["51105"],"growth_habit":null,"growth_habit_source":null,"invasive":null,"invasive_evidence":[],"invasive_rank":null,"native":true,"native_basis":"state_source","native_decided_by":"va_atlas","native_evidence":[{"claim":"native","flag":"N","matched_name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","scope":"VA","source":"va_atlas","url":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565"},{"basis":"NatureServe subnational native or exotic flag for this state","claim":"native","matched_name":"Hedyotis nigricans var. nigricans","scope":"VA","source":"natureserve_explorer","srank":"S1","url":"https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149816/Hedyotis_nigricans_var_nigricans"}],"native_explanation":"Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (published flora, state claim) gives the value.","native_provenance":{"flags":["filled_down"],"source":"va_atlas","specificity":"state","tier":"published_flora"},"native_status":"native_supported","package_native_status":"native_supported","source_ids":["va_atlas:VA:3565"],"source_name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","source_refs":["natureserve_explorer","va_atlas"],"source_url":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565","state_rank":"S1"},"source_refs":["natureserve_explorer","va_atlas"],"source_url":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565","state_rank":{"value":"S1"}},"fit_inputs":{"light":[4,4],"moisture":[0,0],"ph":null},"fit_provenance":{"light":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","moisture":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)"},"fit_record":{"band":"Good","condition_evidence":{"light":{"evidence_id":"fact:3712f6980c588a0709f1e1334305e412236cce49a572f692acce394d7cc0119b","levels":[4],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-2","range":[4,4],"scope":{"kind":"region","region_id":"floraquest_nc_sc_ga"},"semantics":"documented_native_habitat_conditions","source_field":"habitat_light_categories","source_label":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","source_url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emountainworks.android.southeastfieldguide","status":"mapped_selected_fact"},"moisture":{"evidence_id":"fact:38185891edbbee17ff80b166d8b5f9c97b0b42783477751771381773d81f1d21","levels":[0],"policy":"selected-condition-categories-2","range":[0,0],"scope":{"kind":"region","region_id":"floraquest_nc_sc_ga"},"semantics":"documented_native_habitat_conditions","source_field":"habitat_moisture_categories","source_label":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","source_url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emountainworks.android.southeastfieldguide","status":"mapped_selected_fact"}},"county_fips":["12013","12015","12019","12021","12033","12035","12037","12039","12057","12059","12063","12071","12075","12077","12081","12091","12097","12103","12109","12115","12129","12131","12133","21029","21065","21073","21079","21109","21113","21167","47189","51105"],"fit_inputs":{"light":[4,4],"moisture":[0,0],"ph":null},"fit_note":"Shared sunlight, moisture and pH calculation; county geography is an additional layer. Missing source traits remain unknown.","fit_provenance":{"light":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","moisture":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)"},"garden_suitability":{"default_excluded":true,"flags":[{"code":"conservation_caution","default_excluded":true,"label":"Rare or protected plant","message":"Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions.","records":[{"name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","rank":"S1","source":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565","state":"VA"}],"source":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565"}],"review_status":"reviewed","suggestions_excluded":true},"invasive_rank":false,"native_eligible":true,"quercus_score":36,"state":"VA"},"garden_suitability":{"default_excluded":true,"flags":[{"code":"conservation_caution","default_excluded":true,"label":"Rare or protected plant","message":"Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions.","records":[{"name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","rank":"S1","source":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565","state":"VA"}],"source":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565"}],"review_status":"reviewed","suggestions_excluded":true},"growing_observations":{"floraquest_carolinas_georgia":{"matched_name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","retrieved":"2026-10-04T13:31:16.252589+00:00","scope":{"kind":"region","region_id":"floraquest_nc_sc_ga"},"scope_note":"Original regional ecological and identification evidence; no location-specific gardening adjustments.","source_label":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","source_name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","source_record_id":4778,"source_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_url":"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emountainworks.android.southeastfieldguide","trait_evidence":[{"field":"habitat_description","source_column":"HabitatText","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"Organism","value":"Limestone barrens, limestone glades, limestone rocky bluffs, blackland prairies, longleaf pine sandhills, coastal dunes, coastal grasslands, scrubby pine flatwoods."},{"field":"geographic_range_description","source_column":"Description","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"Organism","value":"Sw. Virginia (Ludwig 1999), s. Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, and e. Colorado, south to s. Florida, Texas, e. New Mexico, and along the Sierra Madre Oriental to Hidalgo, Mexico. Turner (1995b) reports Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans (as Hedyotis nigricans var. nigricans ) from Pickens County, South Carolina; the documentation is not known to me, and suitable habitats there are unlikely."},{"field":"phenology_source_text","source_column":"Phenology","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"Organism","value":"May-Oct."},{"field":"taxonomic_synonymy","source_column":"Synonymy","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"Organism","value":"[= Ar, Mo3, Va, Terrell (1986); = Houstonia angustifolia Michx. — S; = n/a — RAB; Hedyotis nigricans (Lam.) Fosberg — C, GrPl, Il, NcTx, Rogers (1987); > Hedyotis nigricans (Lam.) Fosberg var. filifolia (Chapm.) Shinners — Tx, misapplied; Hedyotis nigricans (Lam.) Fosberg var. nigricans — K1, Tn, Terrell (1991), Turner (1995b); Houstonia nigricans (Lam.) Fernald — F, G; Stenaria nigricans (Lam.) Terrell — Mi; Stenaria nigricans (Lam.) Terrell var. nigricans — Fl5, WH3, Terrell (2001)]"},{"field":"botanical_comments","source_column":"Comments","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"Organism","value":"This species has been variously placed in Houstonia , Hedyotis , and Stenaria . As interpreted by Terrell (1991, 2001) and Turner (1995b), Houstonia nigricans is a polymorphic species, with Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans as a widespread \"matrix variety\", and other, much more local varieties warranting recognition."},{"field":"heliophily_index","source_column":"HIndex","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"Organism","value":9},{"field":"habitat_moisture_categories","source_column":"Attr2","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"GraphicKey","value":["Dry"]},{"field":"habitat_light_categories","source_column":"Attr3","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"GraphicKey","value":["Full sun"]},{"field":"graphic_key_source_attributes","source_column":"Attr0..25","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"GraphicKey","value":{"Attr0":"gr09","Attr1":"ga_cp,","Attr12":"e","Attr13":"rad","Attr14":"4","Attr15":"pur,wh","Attr16":"n","Attr17":"DSS","Attr2":"Dry","Attr3":"Sun","Attr3a":"y","Attr3a_subregion":"native_ga_cp:y,","Attr4":" 4-11","Attr5":"er","Attr6":"glb,pub","Attr7":"opp","Attr8":"s","Attr9":"nr"}},{"field":"bloom_season","source_column":"Phenology","source_database_sha256":"684f6b364ff9f3023aa61ed02ae50f6f6d6d4d3bcf76847b78ab769ae0453469","source_record_id":4778,"source_table":"Organism","value":"May to October"}],"values":{"bloom_season":"May to October","botanical_comments":"This species has been variously placed in Houstonia , Hedyotis , and Stenaria . As interpreted by Terrell (1991, 2001) and Turner (1995b), Houstonia nigricans is a polymorphic species, with Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans as a widespread \"matrix variety\", and other, much more local varieties warranting recognition.","geographic_range_description":"Sw. Virginia (Ludwig 1999), s. Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, and e. Colorado, south to s. Florida, Texas, e. New Mexico, and along the Sierra Madre Oriental to Hidalgo, Mexico. Turner (1995b) reports Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans (as Hedyotis nigricans var. nigricans ) from Pickens County, South Carolina; the documentation is not known to me, and suitable habitats there are unlikely.","graphic_key_source_attributes":{"Attr0":"gr09","Attr1":"ga_cp,","Attr12":"e","Attr13":"rad","Attr14":"4","Attr15":"pur,wh","Attr16":"n","Attr17":"DSS","Attr2":"Dry","Attr3":"Sun","Attr3a":"y","Attr3a_subregion":"native_ga_cp:y,","Attr4":" 4-11","Attr5":"er","Attr6":"glb,pub","Attr7":"opp","Attr8":"s","Attr9":"nr"},"habitat_description":"Limestone barrens, limestone glades, limestone rocky bluffs, blackland prairies, longleaf pine sandhills, coastal dunes, coastal grasslands, scrubby pine flatwoods.","habitat_light_categories":["Full sun"],"habitat_moisture_categories":["Dry"],"heliophily_index":9,"phenology_source_text":"May-Oct.","taxonomic_synonymy":"[= Ar, Mo3, Va, Terrell (1986); = Houstonia angustifolia Michx. — S; = n/a — RAB; Hedyotis nigricans (Lam.) Fosberg — C, GrPl, Il, NcTx, Rogers (1987); > Hedyotis nigricans (Lam.) Fosberg var. filifolia (Chapm.) Shinners — Tx, misapplied; Hedyotis nigricans (Lam.) Fosberg var. nigricans — K1, Tn, Terrell (1991), Turner (1995b); Houstonia nigricans (Lam.) Fernald — F, G; Stenaria nigricans (Lam.) Terrell — Mi; Stenaria nigricans (Lam.) Terrell var. nigricans — Fl5, WH3, Terrell (2001)]"}}},"light_range":["full sun","full sun"],"light_source":"FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team)","native_synthesis":{"claims":[{"claim":"native","flag":"N","matched_name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","scope":"VA","source":"va_atlas","url":"https://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=3565"},{"basis":"NatureServe subnational native or exotic flag for this state","claim":"native","matched_name":"Hedyotis nigricans var. nigricans","scope":"VA","source":"natureserve_explorer","srank":"S1","url":"https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149816/Hedyotis_nigricans_var_nigricans"}],"county_native_range":"unresolved","decided_by":"va_atlas","explanation":"Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (published flora, state claim) gives the value.","label":"Native to Virginia (state-specific source)","provenance":{"flags":["filled_down"],"source":"va_atlas","specificity":"state","tier":"published_flora"},"rule":"fact-hierarchy-2","status":"native_supported"},"source_name":"Houstonia nigricans var. nigricans","taxon_id":"taxon:a864287f-aaef-5f15-9387-8f4ff9c51f1b","revision":"publish:903368a2-17ec-496c-89d2-a217f30d9dda","photos":[]}