Network & Hierarchy Mapping with D3.js

Interactive taxonomy explorer built in D3.js to trace how the Lamiales order of flowering plants has been described over time.

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I studied botany before moving into data visualization and wanted to bridge both worlds. This D3.js build explores Lamiales — a massive order of flowering plants with 31,000+ species. Instead of overwhelming viewers, I used proportional sampling so families with more species earn more representation (think class weighting in ML). Tooltips surface the year and author of each described species, and a dual timeline toggle compares foundational 1700s discoveries with modern research still naming new taxa today.

Interaction & insights

• Responsive layout with hover tooltips for author/year and a toggle to flip between earliest vs. newest discoveries.
• Highlights biodiversity concentration and how discovery pace shifts over time.

Tech stack

• D3.js for force layout and SVG rendering, JSON data shaping for proportional sampling, and responsive styling for both desktop and mobile.