Plant Species

Plant species form the taxonomic backbone of Verdantly, with over 440,000 records cross-referenced from multiple authoritative botanical databases. On this page, you will find the full reference for the species endpoints, including search, filtering, lookup by ID, and state distribution.

The species model

The species model contains structured taxonomic, lifecycle, ecological, and distribution data for each species record.

Properties

Name
id
Type
string
Description
Unique identifier for the species record (UUID).
Name
scientificName
Type
string
Description
Formal scientific (Latin) name including authorship (e.g., "Rosa carolina L.").
Name
commonName
Type
string | null
Description
Common or colloquial name (e.g., "Carolina rose"). Null when no common name is known.
Name
taxonomy
Type
object
Description
Taxonomic classification containing the following fields:
Name
taxonomy.genus
Type
string | null
Description
Genus name (e.g., "Rosa").
Name
taxonomy.family
Type
string | null
Description
Botanical family name (e.g., "Rosaceae").
Name
taxonomy.familyCommonName
Type
string | null
Description
Common name for the family (e.g., "Rose family").
Name
taxonomy.order
Type
string | null
Description
Taxonomic order (e.g., "Rosales").
Name
taxonomy.kingdom
Type
string | null
Description
Kingdom classification (e.g., "Plantae").
Name
taxonomy.taxonRank
Type
string | null
Description
The rank of this taxon (e.g., "Species", "Subspecies", "Variety").
Name
taxonomy.scientificNameAuthorship
Type
string | null
Description
Authorship citation for the scientific name (e.g., "L.").
Name
lifecycle
Type
object
Description
Lifecycle and growth information containing the following fields:
Name
lifecycle.duration
Type
string | null
Description
Growth duration (e.g., "Perennial", "Annual", "Biennial").
Name
lifecycle.growthHabit
Type
string | null
Description
Growth habit (e.g., "Shrub", "Tree", "Forb/herb").
Name
lifecycle.activeGrowthPeriod
Type
string | null
Description
Period of active growth (e.g., "Spring and Summer").
Name
ecology
Type
object
Description
Ecological data containing the following fields:
Name
ecology.edible
Type
boolean | null
Description
Whether the species is edible. Null when unknown.
Name
ecology.bloomMonths
Type
string | null
Description
Months when the species typically blooms (e.g., "May, Jun, Jul").
Name
distribution
Type
object | null
Description
Geographic distribution and regulatory status. Null when no distribution data is available.
Name
distribution.nativeStatus
Type
string | null
Description
Native or introduced status by region (e.g., "L48 (N), CAN (N)").
Name
distribution.stateAndProvince
Type
object | null
Description
Structured state/province distribution with country, states, and optional territories arrays.
Name
distribution.invasive
Type
string | null
Description
Invasive status information, if applicable.
Name
distribution.federalNoxiousStatus
Type
string | null
Description
Federal noxious weed designation.
Name
distribution.stateNoxiousStatus
Type
string | null
Description
State-level noxious weed designations.
Name
distribution.federalTeStatus
Type
string | null
Description
Federal threatened or endangered status.
Name
distribution.stateTeStatus
Type
string | null
Description
State-level threatened or endangered status.
Name
imageUrl
Type
string | null
Description
URL to a representative image of the species. Null when no image is available.
Name
synonyms
Type
string[] | null
Description
List of taxonomic synonyms for this species.

GET/v1/plants/species/name

Search species by name

This endpoint searches species by common or scientific name. It supports full fuzzy matching, so partial names and minor misspellings will return results. By default, 10 items are returned per page.

Required attributes

Name
q
Type
string
Description
Search query string (e.g., "rosa", "white oak", "solanum lyco").

Optional attributes

Name
state
Type
string
Description
Filter results to species found in a specific US state. Use the 2-letter state code (e.g., "TX", "CA").
Name
page
Type
integer
Description
Page number for pagination. Defaults to 1.
Name
perPage
Type
integer
Description
Number of results per page. Defaults to 10, maximum 100.

Request

GET

/v1/plants/species/name

curl -G "https://verdantly.p.rapidapi.com/v1/plants/species/name" \
  --data-urlencode "q=carolina rose" \
  --data-urlencode "perPage=5" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: verdantly.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: {apiKey}"

Response

{
  "totalCount": 12,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "a3f1c2e4-7b8d-4e5f-9a1b-2c3d4e5f6a7b",
      "scientificName": "Rosa carolina L.",
      "commonName": "Carolina rose",
      "taxonomy": {
        "genus": "Rosa",
        "family": "Rosaceae",
        "familyCommonName": "Rose family",
        "order": "Rosales",
        "kingdom": "Plantae",
        "taxonRank": "Species",
        "scientificNameAuthorship": "L."
      },
      "lifecycle": {
        "duration": "Perennial",
        "growthHabit": "Shrub",
        "activeGrowthPeriod": "Spring and Summer"
      },
      "ecology": {
        "edible": false,
        "bloomMonths": "May, Jun, Jul"
      },
      "distribution": {
        "nativeStatus": "L48 (N)",
        "stateAndProvince": {
          "country": "USA",
          "states": ["AL", "AR", "CT", "DC", "DE", "FL", "GA", "IA", "IL", "IN", "KS", "KY", "LA", "MA", "MD", "ME", "MI", "MN", "MO", "MS", "NC", "NE", "NH", "NJ", "NY", "OH", "OK", "PA", "RI", "SC", "TN", "TX", "VA", "VT", "WI", "WV"]
        },
        "invasive": null,
        "federalNoxiousStatus": null,
        "stateNoxiousStatus": null,
        "federalTeStatus": null,
        "stateTeStatus": null
      },
      "imageUrl": "https://images.verdantly.io/species/rosa-carolina.jpg",
      "synonyms": ["Rosa humilis", "Rosa serrulata"]
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "page": 1,
    "perPage": 5,
    "pages": 3
  }
}

GET/v1/plants/species/filter

Filter species

This endpoint lets you filter species using a combination of taxonomic, ecological, and geographic criteria. All filter parameters are optional and can be combined freely. By default, 10 items are returned per page.

Optional attributes

Name
q
Type
string
Description
Text search across names (common and scientific).
Name
genus
Type
string
Description
Filter by genus (e.g., "Quercus", "Rosa").
Name
family
Type
string
Description
Filter by botanical family (e.g., "Rosaceae", "Fagaceae").
Name
duration
Type
string
Description
Filter by lifecycle duration (e.g., "Perennial", "Annual", "Biennial").
Name
growthHabit
Type
string
Description
Filter by growth habit (e.g., "Tree", "Shrub", "Forb/herb").
Name
edible
Type
boolean
Description
Filter to edible (true) or non-edible (false) species.
Name
state
Type
string
Description
Filter by 2-letter US state code (e.g., "TX", "OR").
Name
hasImage
Type
boolean
Description
Filter to species with (true) or without (false) images.
Name
taxonRank
Type
string
Description
Filter by taxonomic rank (e.g., "Species", "Subspecies", "Variety").
Name
page
Type
integer
Description
Page number for pagination. Defaults to 1.
Name
perPage
Type
integer
Description
Number of results per page. Defaults to 10, maximum 100.

Request

GET

/v1/plants/species/filter

curl -G "https://verdantly.p.rapidapi.com/v1/plants/species/filter" \
  --data-urlencode "family=Fagaceae" \
  --data-urlencode "duration=Perennial" \
  --data-urlencode "growthHabit=Tree" \
  --data-urlencode "state=TX" \
  --data-urlencode "perPage=5" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: verdantly.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: {apiKey}"

Response

{
  "totalCount": 23,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "b4e2d1a3-5c6f-4789-8b0a-1d2e3f4a5b6c",
      "scientificName": "Quercus alba L.",
      "commonName": "white oak",
      "taxonomy": {
        "genus": "Quercus",
        "family": "Fagaceae",
        "familyCommonName": "Beech family",
        "order": "Fagales",
        "kingdom": "Plantae",
        "taxonRank": "Species",
        "scientificNameAuthorship": "L."
      },
      "lifecycle": {
        "duration": "Perennial",
        "growthHabit": "Tree",
        "activeGrowthPeriod": "Spring and Summer"
      },
      "ecology": {
        "edible": false,
        "bloomMonths": "Apr, May"
      },
      "distribution": {
        "nativeStatus": "L48 (N)",
        "stateAndProvince": {
          "country": "USA",
          "states": ["AL", "AR", "CT", "DC", "DE", "FL", "GA", "IA", "IL", "IN", "KS", "KY", "LA", "MA", "MD", "ME", "MI", "MN", "MO", "MS", "NC", "NE", "NH", "NJ", "NY", "OH", "OK", "PA", "RI", "SC", "TN", "TX", "VA", "VT", "WI", "WV"]
        },
        "invasive": null,
        "federalNoxiousStatus": null,
        "stateNoxiousStatus": null,
        "federalTeStatus": null,
        "stateTeStatus": null
      },
      "imageUrl": "https://images.verdantly.io/species/quercus-alba.jpg",
      "synonyms": null
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "page": 1,
    "perPage": 5,
    "pages": 5
  }
}

GET/v1/plants/species/:id

Get species by ID

This endpoint retrieves a single species record by its UUID. Returns the full SpeciesBackboneDto object.

Required attributes

Name
id
Type
string
Description
The UUID of the species record.

Request

GET

/v1/plants/species/:id

curl "https://verdantly.p.rapidapi.com/v1/plants/species/a3f1c2e4-7b8d-4e5f-9a1b-2c3d4e5f6a7b" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: verdantly.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: {apiKey}"

Response

{
  "id": "a3f1c2e4-7b8d-4e5f-9a1b-2c3d4e5f6a7b",
  "scientificName": "Rosa carolina L.",
  "commonName": "Carolina rose",
  "taxonomy": {
    "genus": "Rosa",
    "family": "Rosaceae",
    "familyCommonName": "Rose family",
    "order": "Rosales",
    "kingdom": "Plantae",
    "taxonRank": "Species",
    "scientificNameAuthorship": "L."
  },
  "lifecycle": {
    "duration": "Perennial",
    "growthHabit": "Shrub",
    "activeGrowthPeriod": "Spring and Summer"
  },
  "ecology": {
    "edible": false,
    "bloomMonths": "May, Jun, Jul"
  },
  "distribution": {
    "nativeStatus": "L48 (N)",
    "stateAndProvince": {
      "country": "USA",
      "states": ["AL", "AR", "CT", "DC", "DE", "FL", "GA", "IA", "IL", "IN", "KS", "KY", "LA", "MA", "MD", "ME", "MI", "MN", "MO", "MS", "NC", "NH", "NJ", "NY", "OH", "OK", "PA", "RI", "SC", "TN", "TX", "VA", "VT", "WI", "WV"],
      "territories": []
    },
    "invasive": null,
    "federalNoxiousStatus": null,
    "stateNoxiousStatus": null,
    "federalTeStatus": null,
    "stateTeStatus": null
  },
  "imageUrl": "https://images.verdantly.io/species/rosa-carolina.jpg",
  "synonyms": ["Rosa humilis", "Rosa serrulata"]
}

GET/v1/plants/species/:id/distribution

Get state distribution

This endpoint returns the detailed state-level distribution for a species. It provides a list of every US state where the species is found, along with the common name and family used in each state record.

Required attributes

Name
id
Type
string
Description
The UUID of the species record.

Request

GET

/v1/plants/species/:id/distribution

curl "https://verdantly.p.rapidapi.com/v1/plants/species/a3f1c2e4-7b8d-4e5f-9a1b-2c3d4e5f6a7b/distribution" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: verdantly.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: {apiKey}"

Response

{
  "speciesId": "a3f1c2e4-7b8d-4e5f-9a1b-2c3d4e5f6a7b",
  "symbol": "ROCA2",
  "scientificName": "Rosa carolina L.",
  "totalStates": 36,
  "states": [
    {
      "state": "AL",
      "commonName": "Carolina rose",
      "family": "Rosaceae"
    },
    {
      "state": "AR",
      "commonName": "Carolina rose",
      "family": "Rosaceae"
    },
    {
      "state": "CT",
      "commonName": "Carolina rose",
      "family": "Rosaceae"
    },
    {
      "state": "FL",
      "commonName": "Carolina rose",
      "family": "Rosaceae"
    },
    {
      "state": "GA",
      "commonName": "Carolina rose",
      "family": "Rosaceae"
    },
    {
      "state": "TX",
      "commonName": "Carolina rose",
      "family": "Rosaceae"
    }
  ]
}