Fairly accurate data on the spatial extent of some plant populations can be generated relatively quickly and inexpensively. Mapping the extent of populations will not be possible for all species especially those that are not visible above ground.
The full extent of the species may be impossible to determine without a wide and extensive reconnaissance survey of the entire area where the species has been recorded. Scattered individual plants over a massive area also are difficult to map spatially. Deciding where one population finishes and a new one starts can also be a problem.