NativePlants.info strives to be a comprehensive resource for gardeners, nursery growers, seed sellers, land stewards, and conservationists. USA, Canada, and some of Mexico data is complete. The rest of the western hemisphere and worldwide data is in progress.
Taxonomic Ranks
Family, Genus, Species, Subspecies, Variety
Taxonomy follows Plants of the World Online (POWO), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. POWO is a globally recognized taxonomic authority that continuously reconciles accepted names and synonyms across the world's flora.
Native Regions
US States, Canadian Provinces, Australian States, and International Botanical Regions
Native range data is drawn from two complementary sources. For North America, nativity is sourced from the USDA PLANTS Database, which provides state and province-level native status, including county-level presence data for the United States. When a search can be resolved to a U.S. county — via zip code, city, or county name — plants with a USDA record of nativity in that county will be flagged with a Confirmed native to [County] County badge. It's a good idea to cross-check with the nearby iNaturalist sightings button if in doubt about local extent of nativity. About 2,000 uncommon North American native plants not fully covered by USDA — such as Asclepias ruthiae, Phacelia corrugata, and Eriocoma arnowiae — have their native range sourced from Plants of the World Online (POWO) instead.
For the rest of the world, native ranges follow POWO using the TDWG botanical region framework maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Where a country has recognized botanical sub-regions — such as Australian states, Brazilian regions, Russian oblasts, or Chinese provinces — plants are displayed at that finer level. Islands with distinct native floras are treated as their own regions: Hawaii, Corsica, Sardinia, Crete, the Canary Islands, Hainan, the Chatham Islands, and others. Countries without recognized botanical sub-divisions display nativity at the country level.
Life Cycle
Annual, Perennial, Biennial, etc.
Life cycle data is sourced from the USDA PLANTS Database. Coverage is comprehensive for North American species. International species may have life cycle data only where they are also documented in the USDA database, typically because they occur in a U.S. territory or are tracked as introduced or invasive. Separately sourcing lifecycle data for international species is on the roadmap.
Growth Form
Tree, Shrub, Forb/Herb, Vine, Geophyte, Epiphyte, Aquatic, Succulent, Bamboo, Parasite, etc.
For North American species, growth habit is sourced from the USDA PLANTS Database. For international species, growth form is derived from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and mapped to standardized growth habit categories.
Landscaping Shrub
This designation identifies plants suitable as ornamental shrubs in designed landscapes. It is algorithmically derived from plant trait data generated by OpenAI GPT-4o, prompted to produce structured botanical summaries from USDA and university extension sources. A plant is flagged as a landscaping shrub when described as woody and shrub-like, and further scored on aesthetic, functional, and ecological criteria including bloom period, foliage interest, fruit or berries, pollinator value, and wildlife benefit. Plants exceeding approximately 15 feet in height are excluded. The designation reflects best available data and may not cover all suitable species.
Light Requirements
Full Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Light requirement data supports multiple values per plant — a species may tolerate Full Sun, Part Shade, or both. Searches for "mostly sunny" return plants tagged for Full Sun as well as Part Shade; "mostly shade" returns Part Shade and Shade plants.
Where available, data is sourced from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin. For species not covered there, light requirements are derived from botanical summaries generated by OpenAI GPT-4o, prompted to draw on USDA and university extension sources.
Drought Tolerance
Low, Medium, High
Sourced from the same two datasets as Light Requirements: the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center as the primary source, with OpenAI GPT-4o-generated summaries as a fallback.
Max Height
Sourced from the same two datasets as Light Requirements: the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center as the primary source, with OpenAI GPT-4o-generated summaries as a fallback. Heights are stored in centimeters and displayed in feet and inches.
Bloom Months and Bloom Colors
Sourced from the same two datasets as Light Requirements: the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center as the primary source, with OpenAI GPT-4o-generated summaries as a fallback.
Bee Benefits
1–5 star ranking
Derived from plant-pollinator interaction observations in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), specifically adult Apidae (bee family) sightings recorded on plant species. Plants are ranked into five equal groups by the number of associated bee species observed, with 5 stars indicating the highest relative value. For plants with no GBIF data, a base rating of 1 star may be assigned where the plant is otherwise documented as beneficial to bees.
Butterfly Benefits
1–5 star ranking
Derived from GBIF adult Lepidoptera observations, encompassing both butterflies and moths. Rankings are distributed into five equal groups by associated species count, with 5 stars indicating the highest relative value. A base rating of 1 star may be assigned as a fallback for plants documented as butterfly-beneficial but lacking sufficient GBIF data.
Caterpillar Benefits
1–5 star ranking
Derived from the HOSTS — A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants, maintained by the Natural History Museum, London. Rankings reflect the number of distinct caterpillar species recorded as using a plant as a host, scored on a fixed scale: 1–5 species (1 star), 6–15 (2 stars), 16–30 (3 stars), 31–60 (4 stars), and 61 or more (5 stars).
Hummingbird Benefits
1–5 star ranking
Derived from GBIF adult Trochilidae (hummingbird family) observations associated with plant species, ranked into five equal groups by species count. A base rating of 1 star may be assigned as a fallback for plants otherwise documented as hummingbird nectar sources.
Keystone: Caterpillar Ranking
1–5 star ranking
Genus-level ranking of caterpillar host plant value, sourced from the National Wildlife Federation Garden for Wildlife Keystone Plant Lists, compiled across EPA ecoregions. Caterpillar support counts are averaged across ecoregions per genus and distributed into five equal groups, with 5 stars indicating the highest relative value.
Keystone: Pollen Specialist Bee Ranking
1–5 star ranking
Genus-level ranking of value to native pollen specialist bees — bee species that depend on specific plant genera for pollen. Sourced from the same NWF Garden for Wildlife Keystone Plant Lists, compiled across EPA ecoregions. Counts are averaged per genus across ecoregions and distributed into five equal groups, with 5 stars indicating the highest relative value.
Suppliers
Plant and seed availability is sourced from the public catalogs of native plant seed suppliers. Listings may be out of date. To add your nursery, seed company, or restoration service, contact us directly or use the self-service Vendor Portal.
Host Plant for Caterpillar Species
Host plant records are sourced from the HOSTS — A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants, maintained by the Natural History Museum, London. This database compiles recorded associations between caterpillar species and their host plants from scientific literature worldwide. In addition, host plant associations were aggregated from a GBIF occurrence extract where egg or larva sightings were recorded against specific plant species — for example, from observer notes such as "Female, ovipositing on Vicia cracca."
Reported Fauna Sightings
Wildlife sighting associations between plants and fauna — including bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds — are aggregated from occurrence records in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). GBIF aggregates observational data from institutions and citizen science platforms worldwide, including iNaturalist, making it one of the most comprehensive sources of biodiversity occurrence data available. Associations were derived from observer notes linking fauna to specific plants — for example: "Saw these two hummingbirds. Rufous? Allen's? Is the small one a scintillant with the copper throat? After the salvia Apiana blossoms."
Note: light trap records were excluded to avoid spurious associations from moths attracted to light rather than the plant itself.
Soil Requirements
pH range, soil description, drainage, moisture
Soil requirement data is generated by OpenAI GPT-4o, prompted to return structured native habitat soil conditions based on authoritative botanical sources. Data includes pH range, soil texture and composition, drainage characteristics, and moisture preferences. Results reflect native habitat conditions rather than cultivated tolerance.
Germination Recommendations
Germination data is sourced from the USDA Forest Service National Plant Data Center, which maintains curated propagation protocols for native plant species. Additional germination data comes from the Ontario Rock Garden & Hardy Plant Society Germination Guide, a community-compiled database covering over 8,800 species that draws heavily on Norman C. Deno's Seed Germination Theory and Practice. These protocols should be cross-referenced against the displayed germination guidance provided by Claude AI, which was prompted to draw on authoritative horticultural and botanical sources.
Images
Plant images are sourced from three open-access portals: Wikipedia, iNaturalist, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Images are selected programmatically by source priority — Wikipedia first, followed by iNaturalist research-grade observations, then GBIF occurrence records. Attribution is displayed where provided by the source.
AI Tools
Anthropic Claude is used for AI-powered plant search and suggestions. Claude Sonnet is used to fill data gaps where described above.