How to Use BONAP
Using BONAP Distribution Maps
The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) provides detailed county-level distribution maps for the plants of North America. The project was developed by botanist John T. Kartesz and represents decades of work compiling plant taxonomy and distribution data across the United States and Canada.
BONAP maps allow users to see where individual plant species occur across the continent. Because the maps are shown at the county level, they provide a much finer picture of plant distributions than most field guides or regional plant lists.
These maps are especially useful when working with plant groups that contain many species, helping identify which species actually occur in a particular region.
Example: Goldenrods (Solidago)
Suppose you want to plant goldenrods. Instead of choosing a species at random, you can use BONAP to see which goldenrod species are native where you live.
Begin by exploring the BONAP maps for the genus Solidago. The genus Solidago includes many species of goldenrods found across North America.
- Open the BONAP genus page for Solidago.
- Look at the county distribution maps for the species shown there.
- Identify the species that occur in your own state or county.
- Focus on those species when deciding which goldenrods to learn about or plant.
This approach helps identify species that are actually native to your area rather than species that occur only in distant parts of the continent.
But I Don’t Know the Genus Name
Many people searching for plants begin with common names rather than scientific names. That is perfectly normal. Several resources can help you move from a common name to the scientific name needed for tools like BONAP.
- USDA PLANTS Database allows users to search by common name and provides the accepted scientific name for each species.
- bPlant provides searchable plant profiles and regional plant lists that include both common and scientific names.
Once you have identified the scientific name or genus, you can return to the BONAP distribution maps to explore where those species occur across North America.