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References & citations

The wiki's authority comes from sourced data. Attaching a reference is the single most useful thing you can do as a contributor.

What counts as a reference

  • Primary sources— the breeder's own website, the PSA registry, a published horticultural reference, or a peer-reviewed paper.
  • Secondary sources — reputable nursery sites, curated blogs, books, magazine articles. Acceptable for most fields, but Authoritative tier requires at least one primary source.
  • First-hand observations with photosare useful but should be added as anecdotal notes, not as references — they're one perspective rather than a citable source.

Adding a reference to a page

  1. 1
    Open the cultivar page and scroll to References
    The References block is below the structured content, above the photo gallery.
  2. 2
    Click ‘Add reference’
    A small inline form appears. Paste the URL and write a short descriptive label (the site name, paper title, or a 1-line summary).
  3. 3
    Submit
    References go through the same review queue as edits. If you're a verified breeder of this cultivar, your reference attaches immediately.
Add reference form with URL and label fields
The Add reference form — URL plus a human label.

Inline references on edits

When you propose an edit to a field, the inline edit form lets you attach a reference at the same time. This is the preferred path — paired sources make admin review fast and keep edits and citations in sync.

Why multi-contributor matters

To reach the Authoritative tier, a page needs references from multiple contributors. One enthusiast with five sources is impressive but not authoritative — corroboration from an independent voice is what makes the difference. See Quality tiers.

Edge cases

Paywalled sources

Paywalled references are allowed, but only when a public summary, abstract, or excerpt exists somewhere a reader can verify the claim. Cite both — the paywalled primary and the publicly accessible secondary — so the page never depends on someone buying access to confirm its data.

Foreign-language sources

Foreign-language references are fine — plumeria literature is global. When you add one, include a brief English translation or paraphrase of the relevant claim in the label field so readers and reviewers know what the source actually says.

Archived pages

Web pages rot. When a primary source lives somewhere that might disappear (a personal blog, a small nursery site), preferring an archive.org snapshot in addition to the live URL keeps the citation usable long-term.

References on merged cultivars

When admins merge two cultivars (because they turned out to be the same plant under different names), references attached to the merged-away cultivar follow the canonical one — none are lost. They simply appear in the canonical page's references list alongside any references that were already there.