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ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, itis.gov) is a public database of authoritative scientific and common names and their taxonomic relationships, covering all seven kingdoms of life — Archaea, Bacteria, Protozoa, Chromista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia — with a focus on North America and global coverage. You use it to confirm the correct spelling and current status of a name, find the accepted name behind a synonym, and get a stable identifier (a TSN) you can cite or link to. It is the right tool when you need a citable name reference or a machine-readable taxonomy; it is not a source for specimen records, images, or geographic occurrences.

What ITIS is and what it covers

ITIS assembles names and their taxonomic relationships in partnership with specialists worldwide and distributes that data openly. It is made up of 11 active Memorandum of Understanding partners and is an Associate Participant of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), as well as a partner and contributor to the Catalogue of Life (COL) and ChecklistBank, which form the basis of the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy.

Two practical consequences follow from that:

• Names are curated, not crowd-sourced. Records reflect specialist review, so a name's presence or absence carries weight.
• The data is designed to be reused. ITIS publishes web services and full database downloads, not just web pages.

The database is large and actively maintained. As of the site's most recent load figures, ITIS reported roughly 1,000,636 scientific names (any rank, any usage) and 167,526 common names, with new and edited names added continuously.

How to look up a name or TSN

The home page offers a quick search with a single input box and a set of filters.

Input: a name or a TSN. You choose the search type from these options:

• Any Name or TSN
• Common Name
• Scientific Name
• TSN

You can also restrict the search to a kingdom — Animal, Plant, Fungal, Bacteria, Protozoa, Chromista, or Archaea — or leave it at "in every Kingdom."

Match behavior: the search supports several matching modes, including exactly, for, containing, starting with, and ending with. Use exactly when you already have a correctly spelled name and want to avoid near-matches; use containing when you only remember part of a name.

Action: enter the term, pick the search type and match mode, and run the search.

Expected result: a results list of matching taxa. Selecting a record opens its full report, which shows the name, its taxonomic placement, and its TSN.

One practical constraint: the site states that its search functionality requires JavaScript, so enable JavaScript or use a JavaScript-enabled browser. If you cannot, the site points you to Advanced Search and Report as an alternative route.

What a TSN is and when to use it

A TSN is a Taxonomic Serial Number — a stable numeric identifier assigned to a taxon in ITIS. The site addresses "What is an ITIS TSN?" directly in its FAQ, and the quick search accepts a TSN as a search type, which tells you the intended use: a TSN is a lookup key.

Use a TSN when you need to refer to a taxon unambiguously:

• In databases and datasets, where a number survives name changes and spelling variants that a text name would not.
• In citations and links, so a reader lands on the exact record you used.
• When reconciling sources, because two sources may use different names for the same taxon but can be matched through the identifier.

A TSN identifies a taxon in ITIS; it is not a global biodiversity identifier used by every system, so do not assume it will match identifiers from unrelated databases.

Beyond quick search: the other ITIS tools

The site groups its data access under Data Access and Tools. The main options:

For programmatic use, the site documents Web Service Information, a Description of ITIS Web Services, guidance on Developing a Client, and ITIS Solr Web Services with Solr WS Examples. For bulk use, it provides Full Database Download Instructions, Database Files, and the option to Download Data in TWB Format. The site also has a route to Become a Data Partner and Contribute, using the Taxonomic Workbench.

Choose the route by volume: a handful of lookups belongs in the web interface; anything repeated or large-scale belongs in the web services or a download.

Citing and linking to ITIS

ITIS treats citation and linking as first-class questions — both "How Do I Cite ITIS?" and "How Do I Link to ITIS?" appear in its FAQ. If you publish work that depends on an ITIS name or TSN, follow the site's own citation guidance rather than inventing a format, and use its linking guidance when you point readers to a record. The site's footer also carries a "How to cite ITIS" link and a privacy statement and disclaimers page.

Common sticking points

• JavaScript disabled. Quick search will not run; use Advanced Search and Report instead.
• Wrong match mode. Searching a partial name with exactly returns nothing. Switch to containing or starting with.
• Kingdom filter too narrow. A name you expect under Animalia may be filed elsewhere, or the filter may exclude the record you want. Try "in every Kingdom" first.
• Expecting occurrence data. ITIS holds names and classifications. For specimen and observation records, you need a different kind of resource.
• Treating a name as fixed. Names and classifications are revised; the site reports new and edited names on an ongoing basis, so re-check rather than assuming a name you recorded earlier is still current.

A taxonomic classification report on ITIS is a hierarchical listing that shows where a taxon sits in the tree of life — from kingdom down through each rank to the taxon itself — along with its scientific name, author citation, and Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN). You generate one by searching ITIS for a name or TSN and opening the Hierarchical Report, or by calling the ITIS Web Services if you need to do this at scale. This guide covers both paths, how to read the output, and where people commonly get stuck.

What a taxonomic classification report actually contains

ITIS describes itself as a partnership of specialists that assembles scientific names and their taxonomic relationships and distributes that data openly. A classification report is the visible output of that relationship data: it is not just a name lookup, it is a path through the classification.

Expect the report to include:

• The full hierarchy — the sequence of parent taxa above your target, typically from kingdom downward.
• Rank labels — kingdom, phylum/division, class, order, family, genus, species, and intermediate ranks where ITIS records them.
• Scientific name and author citation — the accepted form of the name plus who described it.
• TSN — the Taxonomic Serial Number, ITIS's stable identifier for a taxon. ITIS documents this in its FAQ ("What is an ITIS TSN?").
• Usage status — whether the name is the valid/accepted one or a synonym, which matters when you are verifying a name rather than just browsing.

The TSN is the piece most people underestimate. Because scientific names get revised, a name string can be ambiguous while a TSN is not — so a report that gives you both is more useful for citation than a name alone.

Generating a report: the manual route

Step 1 — Find the taxon

ITIS offers a Quick search on the home page with these options:

• Any Name or TSN
• Common Name
• Scientific Name
• TSN

You also scope the search to a kingdom: Animal, Plant, Fungal, Bacteria, Protozoa, Chromista, or Archaea, or "in every" kingdom. Matching modes include exactly, for, containing, starting with, and ending with.

Input: a scientific name, common name, or TSN, plus a kingdom scope and match mode. Action: run the search. Expected result: a results list of matching taxa.

One practical note from the ITIS page itself: the search functionality requires JavaScript. If the search box does nothing, that is the first thing to check — enable JavaScript or use a JavaScript-enabled browser, or go to Advanced Search instead.

Step 2 — Open the Hierarchical Report

From the results, open the Hierarchical Report for the taxon you want. This is the tool ITIS lists under Data Access and Tools, alongside Advanced Search, Web Services, Compare Names, and the full database download.

The report renders the classification path for that taxon. Read it top-down: each line is a rank, and the indentation or ordering shows the parent-child relationship.

Step 3 — Read it correctly

When you read the report, separate three things that look similar but mean different things:

If your goal is name verification rather than browsing, the synonym/valid distinction is the whole point — a classification report on a synonym tells you what it was called and where it sits, not what you should cite.

Generating reports at scale: Web Services and Compare Names

Manual search is fine for one taxon. For a list, ITIS provides two better options.

Compare Names — listed under Data Access and Tools — is the tool for checking a set of names against ITIS rather than opening reports one at a time.

Web Services — ITIS documents Web Service Information, a Description of ITIS Web Services, guidance on Developing a Client, ITIS Solr Web Services, and ITIS Solr WS Examples. These let you retrieve taxonomic data programmatically instead of through the browser.

For a batch job, the workflow is:

1. Confirm the service and endpoint you need from the ITIS Web Services documentation.
2. Send your names or TSNs as input.
3. Parse the returned classification and identifiers.
4. Store the TSN alongside the name so later revisions do not break your records.

Do not guess at endpoint parameters — the ITIS documentation pages exist precisely because the service surface is specific. Read the Solr WS Examples before writing a client.

Exporting, downloading, and citing

If you need more than one report, ITIS offers a Full Database Download with Download Instructions and Database Files, plus the option to Download Data in TWB Format. The FAQ covers "What is the format of a download file?" — check that before you build a parser, since the format determines how you load it.

For citation, ITIS provides a "How to cite ITIS" page and a "How Do I Cite ITIS?" FAQ entry, and also documents "How Do I Link to ITIS?" if you are referencing a taxon from a website. Use those pages rather than inventing a citation format.

Common snags

• Search does nothing. JavaScript is disabled or the browser does not support it. Use Advanced Search or enable JavaScript.
• You searched a common name and got an unexpected taxon. Common names are not unique across kingdoms — scope the search to the right kingdom and prefer scientific names for verification work.
• The name you have is not in the results. It may be recorded under a synonym. Search the name you have, then check the usage status in the report.
• You need the classification for many names. Stop using the browser; use Compare Names or the Web Services.
• You are citing a name without a TSN. Add the TSN. It is the identifier that survives name revisions.

What to take away

Use the Hierarchical Report when you need to see one taxon's full placement and confirm its accepted name and TSN. Use Compare Names or the Web Services when you have a list. Use the full database download when you need the whole dataset locally. In every case, carry the TSN forward with the name — that is what makes a taxonomic classification report useful beyond the moment you read it.

ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System, itis.gov) is a publicly accessible taxonomic database that assembles scientific names and their taxonomic relationships for species worldwide, covering all seven kingdoms of life: Archaea, Bacteria, Protozoa, Chromista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. Use it when you need an authoritative reference for a scientific name, its classification hierarchy, or a stable identifier (TSN) to link taxonomic data across systems. ITIS is maintained by 11 active MOU partners and is an Associate Participant of GBIF, as well as a contributor to the Catalogue of Life and ChecklistBank.

What ITIS Provides

The core value of ITIS is not just a list of names but the relationships between them. Each record ties a taxon to its position in a classification hierarchy, so you can move from a species up through genus, family, order, and beyond.

The site reports large and actively updated datasets. As of the figures shown on the homepage, the monthly export lists over 1,000,000 scientific names (any rank, any usage) and more than 167,000 common names, with new and edited names loaded continuously.

What Is a TSN and Why It Matters

A TSN (Taxonomic Serial Number) is a unique, stable number assigned to a taxon in ITIS. Because scientific names can change with new research, and because the same organism may be known by different names in different sources, a TSN gives you a fixed reference point. If you are building a database, linking biodiversity records, or citing a taxon, the TSN lets other systems resolve exactly which entity you mean, even if the name is later revised.

How to Search ITIS

ITIS offers a quick search on the homepage and an Advanced Search and Report tool.

Quick search

1. Choose what you are searching on: Any Name or TSN, Common Name, Scientific Name, or TSN.
2. Optionally narrow by kingdom: Animal, Plant, Fungal, Bacteria, Protozoa, Chromista, or Archaea.
3. Set the match type: exactly, for containing, starting with, or ending with.
4. Enter your term and run the search.

Note that the search functionality requires JavaScript. If results do not appear, enable JavaScript or use a JavaScript-enabled browser, or go directly to Advanced Search and Report.

Advanced Search and Report

Use this when you need more control than the quick search allows, for example combining name criteria with rank or kingdom filters, or when you want to generate a report rather than a simple result list.

Working with Results: Reports and Comparisons

Beyond a single lookup, ITIS provides tools for viewing and reconciling taxonomic data:

• Taxonomic Classification Report — shows a taxon's full position in the hierarchy.
• Hierarchical Report — displays the classification as a structured tree.
• Compare Names — helps you check how names relate, useful when you suspect two names refer to the same or different taxa.
• Web Services — programmatic access, including ITIS Web Services, ITIS Solr Web Services (with examples), and a guide to developing a client, for pulling ITIS data into your own application.

Getting the Full Dataset

If you need bulk data rather than individual lookups, ITIS offers a full database download with instructions and database files, plus a download in TWB format. This is the practical route when you want to integrate ITIS taxonomy into a local system rather than query it one name at a time. You can also become a data partner or contribute taxonomic work through the Taxonomic Workbench.

Citing and Linking to ITIS

ITIS provides guidance on how to cite it and how to link to its pages, so your references remain traceable. If you are publishing research or building a resource that depends on ITIS data, follow the citation format the site specifies rather than paraphrasing it.

When a Search Returns Nothing or Names Don't Match

If your query fails or a name seems inconsistent, check these in order:

1. Spelling — scientific names are exact; a single wrong letter can return no result.
2. Match type — "exactly" is strict; try "containing" or "starting with" if you are unsure of the full string.
3. Author/name form — the name as you have it may include an author citation that the search field does not expect.
4. Synonyms — the name you have may be a synonym or a name no longer in use; the Compare Names tool and the classification report can help you trace the accepted name.
5. Kingdom filter — an over-narrow kingdom selection can hide a valid result.

ITIS is a reference for names and classification, not a source of ecological, geographic, or conservation data. Treat it as the naming and hierarchy layer that other biodiversity information can be indexed and connected against.

Most houseplants die from two fixable problems: too little light for the species you bought, and too much water. Get those two right, add a container that drains, and you can keep common tropical and flowering indoor plants alive with a simple routine. This guide covers light matching, watering by soil check, potting mix and repotting, humidity and feeding, and how to read the symptoms — yellow leaves, brown tips, pests, root rot — that tell you what to change.

Match the plant to the light in the room

Light is the variable you can't fake. Before buying, watch how a spot behaves through the day: does direct sun hit the leaves, is it bright but never sunny, or is it a dim corner?

• Bright, indirect light (near a window, no direct sun on leaves): the safe default for most foliage houseplants.
• Direct sun (sunlight actually strikes the plant): needed by many flowering and succulent-type plants, but it will scorch shade-lovers.
• Low light (away from windows, or a north-facing spot): only a limited group of plants tolerate this, and even they usually grow slowly rather than thrive.

Signs of too much light: bleached, washed-out patches, crisp brown scorch marks on leaf surfaces facing the window, leaves that look faded rather than green.

Signs of too little light: stretched, spindly growth with long gaps between leaves, small new leaves, a plant that leans hard toward the window, and variegated leaves reverting to plain green.

If you can't move the plant, move the light — a sheer curtain softens direct sun, and rotating the pot a quarter turn each week keeps growth even.

Water correctly: check the soil, not the calendar

Overwatering is the most common way houseplants die, and it usually looks like underwatering — wilted, yellowing leaves — which is why people water more and make it worse. The fix is to check moisture before every watering instead of following a schedule.

A workable routine:

1. Test the soil. Push a finger about 2–3 cm (1 inch) into the mix. If it feels damp, wait. If it feels dry at that depth, water.
2. Water thoroughly. Pour until water runs out of the drainage holes, so the whole root ball gets wet rather than just the top.
3. Empty the saucer. Never let the pot stand in the water that collected — that's how root rot starts.
4. Adjust by season. Growth slows in winter, so most plants need much less water then; in active growth they drink faster.

Two rules of thumb worth remembering: a small pot in bright light dries out faster than a large pot in shade, and a plant in a plastic pot holds moisture longer than the same plant in unglazed terracotta.

Potting mix, drainage, and when to repot

Use a potting mix made for containers, not garden soil — garden soil compacts in a pot and suffocates roots. Most houseplant mixes are light and airy; succulents and cacti want a grittier, faster-draining version.

The container matters as much as the mix:

• Drainage holes are non-negotiable. A decorative pot with no holes works only as a cachepot holding a smaller potted plant inside.
• Size up gradually. Move to a pot only about 2–5 cm (1–2 inches) wider. A pot that's far too big holds excess wet soil around the roots and invites rot.

Repot when roots circle the inside of the pot, grow out of the drainage holes, or the plant dries out within a day or two of watering. Spring, just as growth restarts, is the least stressful time. After repotting, water and keep the plant out of harsh direct sun for a week or so while it settles.

Humidity, temperature, and feeding

Tropical houseplants come from humid places, and indoor air — especially in winter with heating on — is much drier. Group plants together to raise local humidity, or set pots on a tray of pebbles with water below the pot base. Misting gives only a brief bump and can encourage leaf spots if foliage stays wet.

Temperature: most houseplants are comfortable in the same range you are, roughly 18–24°C (65–75°F). Keep them away from cold drafts, hot radiators, and the temperature swings right beside a window at night.

Feeding: plants in active growth benefit from a balanced houseplant fertilizer at the dilution on the label, typically every few weeks through spring and summer. Stop or cut back in winter when growth stalls. More fertilizer is not better — overfeeding causes salt buildup and burned leaf edges.

Diagnose common problems

When you spot a problem, change one thing at a time and give the plant a couple of weeks to respond — that way you learn what actually helped.

A simple weekly routine

Once the setup is right, maintenance is short: check soil moisture and water only the plants that need it, rotate pots a quarter turn, look at the undersides of leaves for pests, and remove dead or yellowing foliage. Repot in spring when roots demand it, feed during active growth, and ease off water and fertilizer in winter.

If you start with light and watering and get those two right, most other houseplant problems either don't appear or are easy to correct.

The Phasmida Species File is a taxonomic, nomenclatural, and bibliographic database covering the world's stick and leaf insects (order Phasmida), including both living and fossil taxa. It is the resource to use when you need to verify a valid species name, trace a synonym, find the original publication behind a name, or check where a phasmid has been recorded. It suits taxonomists, ecologists, policy makers, and educators — anyone who needs an authoritative name rather than a casual identification.

What the database contains

According to the site itself, the Phasmida Species File group works to build a comprehensive source of knowledge about the world's phasmids. The information found there includes:

• Valid names — the currently accepted name for a taxon
• Synonyms — alternative names that have been applied to the same taxon
• Bibliographic data — the literature behind names and records
• Specimen data — records tied to physical specimens
• Images and sounds — media associated with taxa
• Distributions — where phasmids of the world have been recorded

This combination is what makes it a species file rather than a simple checklist: a name is only useful if you can see what it means, where it came from, and what else has been called by that name.

How to search it

The site is built around taxon pages, so you can enter at whatever level you already know.

If you know the scientific name, search for it directly. The site gives these examples:

• Phasmatidae (a family)
• Phasma (a genus)
• Phasma gigas (a species)

If you want to browse rather than search, start from a rank and work down. The site suggests entering at:

• Order = Phasmida
• Family = Phylliidae
• Genus = Anchiale

If you only have a common name or a photo, you cannot search by "stick insect" and expect a species. You need to narrow to a group first — for example, leaf insects point toward Phylliidae — then browse the genus pages and compare the images and distribution records listed there.

The site's own examples of taxa with pages include Diapherodes gigantea, Pterinoxylus crassus, Pulchriphyllium giganteum, Agathemera maculafulgens, and Dryococelus australis.

What you get from a taxon page

A taxon page is where the database earns its keep. In practice you use it to answer four questions:

1. Is this name still valid? If it has been synonymized, the page should lead you to the accepted name.
2. What is the original reference? The bibliographic data tells you who described it and where.
3. What specimens exist? Specimen records show what the name is anchored to.
4. Where does it occur? Distribution data tells you the recorded range.

For a policy maker or ecologist, the distribution and valid-name fields are usually the deciding ones. For a taxonomist, the synonymy and bibliography are.

Contributing, getting help, and project background

The site's About page contains an overview and history of the project, its data and gaps, information about the team, and how you can contribute. There are also contact and help routes if you hit a problem or want to report something.

The current site launched in August 2023; the announcement (Paul D Brock, T H Büscher, E Baker, 2023-08-15) welcomes users to the new Phasmida Species File website and invites feedback on the new features and on how the information is used. A related 2022 publication, Brock & Büscher's Stick and leaf-insects of the world, Phasmids (NAP Editions), includes a world checklist of species, and Phasmid Studies Vol 21 was published on 31 Dec 2022 with its papers uploaded.

Practical notes

• Names change. A name you used five years ago may now be a synonym. Always check the valid name before publishing or citing.
• Gaps are acknowledged. The project describes its data and gaps openly, so absence of a record is not proof of absence in the field.
• Use the rank you have. If you only know the family, start there and browse; do not guess a species name to force a search result.
• Cite the source. Because the file is bibliographic, it gives you the reference to cite rather than requiring you to reconstruct it.