plantfyi 0.1.1

Plant taxonomy and cultivation API client — plantfyi.com

plantfyi

Python API client for the world's plant taxonomy and botanical data. Access 379,774 plant species across 734 families and 50 orders, with taxonomic classification, climate zone mapping, geographic distribution, and species comparison data — all through a clean REST API with zero core dependencies.

Extracted from PlantFYI, a botanical reference platform cataloging the plant kingdom with taxonomy aligned to the APG IV classification system, distribution data from WCSP and POWO, and cultivation guides used by botanists, horticulturists, and plant enthusiasts worldwide.

Explore plant data at plantfyi.com — browse plants, families, orders, climate zones, and distribution data.

Table of Contents

• Install
• Quick Start
• What You Can Do
  • Plant Taxonomy and APG IV
  • Plant Families
  • Climate Zones and Cultivation
  • Geographic Distribution
  • Species Comparison
• Command-Line Interface
• MCP Server (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)
• REST API Client
• API Reference
• Learn More About Plants
• Nature FYI Family
• FYIPedia Developer Tools
• License

Install

pip install plantfyi                # Core (zero deps)
pip install "plantfyi[cli]"         # + Command-line interface (typer, rich)
pip install "plantfyi[mcp]"         # + MCP server for AI assistants
pip install "plantfyi[api]"         # + HTTP client for plantfyi.com API
pip install "plantfyi[all]"         # Everything

Or run instantly without installing:

uvx --from plantfyi plantfyi search "orchid"

Quick Start

from plantfyi.api import PlantFYI

with PlantFYI() as api:
    # Search across all plant species
    results = api.search("sunflower")
    print(results)

    # Get detailed information for a specific plant
    plant = api.get_plant("helianthus-annuus")
    print(plant["name"])  # Helianthus annuus

    # Browse plant families — 734 families
    families = api.list_families()
    print(families["count"])  # 734

    # Explore climate zones for cultivation
    zones = api.list_climate_zones()
    print(zones["count"])

What You Can Do

Plant Taxonomy and APG IV

The plant kingdom contains approximately 379,774 known species, organized into 50 orders and 734 families. Modern plant classification follows the APG IV (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV, 2016) system, which uses molecular phylogenetic data rather than morphology alone to determine evolutionary relationships.

Division	Orders	Species	Description
Angiosperms (flowering plants)	64	~370,000	Produce flowers and enclosed seeds
Gymnosperms (conifers, etc.)	4	~1,000	Naked seeds, no flowers
Ferns and Allies	4	~10,500	Spore-producing vascular plants
Mosses and Liverworts	—	~20,000	Non-vascular, spore-producing

The APG IV system groups flowering plants into monocots (grasses, orchids, palms — one seed leaf) and eudicots (roses, oaks, sunflowers — two seed leaves), with several basal lineages like water lilies and magnolias.

from plantfyi.api import PlantFYI

with PlantFYI() as api:
    # Browse all 50 plant orders
    orders = api.list_orders()
    for order in orders["results"][:5]:
        print(f"{order['name']}")

    # Get details for a specific order
    order = api.get_order("rosales")
    print(order["name"])  # Rosales (roses, elms, figs, hemp)

Learn more: Plant Species · Plant Orders · Botanical Glossary

Plant Families

The 734 plant families represent distinct evolutionary lineages sharing common ancestry. Some families are enormously diverse while others contain only a handful of species. The largest families alone account for over half of all flowering plant species.

Family	Common Name	Species	Key Features
Asteraceae	Daisy/Composite	~32,000	Composite flower heads (sunflowers, daisies)
Orchidaceae	Orchid	~28,000	Complex flowers, mycorrhizal dependence
Fabaceae	Legume/Pea	~20,000	Nitrogen fixation, pod fruits
Poaceae	Grass	~12,000	Hollow stems, cereal crops (wheat, rice)
Rubiaceae	Coffee	~13,500	Opposite leaves, includes coffee and quinine
Lamiaceae	Mint	~7,000	Square stems, aromatic oils (basil, lavender)
Rosaceae	Rose	~4,800	Fruits (apple, cherry, strawberry)
Brassicaceae	Mustard/Cabbage	~3,700	Cruciform flowers, glucosinolates
Solanaceae	Nightshade	~2,700	Alkaloids (tomato, potato, tobacco)
Cactaceae	Cactus	~1,700	Succulence, spines, CAM photosynthesis

from plantfyi.api import PlantFYI

with PlantFYI() as api:
    # Browse all 734 plant families
    families = api.list_families()
    print(families["count"])  # 734

    # Get details for a specific family
    orchid = api.get_family("orchidaceae")
    print(orchid["name"])  # Orchidaceae

Learn more: Plant Families · Guides

Climate Zones and Cultivation

Plant distribution is primarily governed by climate — temperature range, precipitation, frost dates, and photoperiod. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone system divides regions into zones based on minimum winter temperature, while the Koppen climate classification maps global climate patterns that determine which plants can thrive where.

Hardiness Zone	Min Winter Temp	Example Plants
Zone 3 (-40 to -34C)	Siberian iris, birch, spruce
Zone 5 (-29 to -23C)	Roses, lilacs, apple trees
Zone 7 (-18 to -12C)	Camellias, crape myrtle, figs
Zone 9 (-7 to -1C)	Citrus, bougainvillea, palms
Zone 11 (4 to 10C)	Tropical orchids, plumeria, mangoes

Plants also differ in photosynthesis pathways — C3 (most plants, temperate), C4 (grasses, tropical crops like corn and sugarcane), and CAM (succulents, cacti) — each adapted to different light and water conditions.

from plantfyi.api import PlantFYI

with PlantFYI() as api:
    # Browse climate zones
    zones = api.list_climate_zones()
    for z in zones["results"][:5]:
        print(z["name"])

    # Get details for a specific climate zone
    zone = api.get_climate_zone("tropical-rainforest")
    print(zone["name"])  # Tropical Rainforest

Learn more: Climate Zones · Guides

Geographic Distribution

PlantFYI maps plant species to their native and introduced ranges across countries and botanical regions. Understanding plant distribution reveals biogeographic patterns — why certain families dominate in specific regions (e.g., Proteaceae in Australia and South Africa, cacti in the Americas).

from plantfyi.api import PlantFYI

with PlantFYI() as api:
    # Browse distribution data
    distributions = api.list_distributions()
    print(distributions["count"])

    # Browse plants by country
    countries = api.list_countries()
    brazil = api.get_country("brazil")
    print(brazil["name"])  # Brazil — highest plant diversity on Earth

Learn more: Plant Distributions · Countries

Species Comparison

PlantFYI provides side-by-side comparisons of similar or commonly confused plant species, covering morphological differences, growing conditions, uses, and geographic overlap.

from plantfyi.api import PlantFYI

with PlantFYI() as api:
    # Browse plant comparisons
    comparisons = api.list_comparisons()
    for comp in comparisons["results"][:3]:
        print(comp["name"])

    # Get a specific comparison
    comp = api.get_comparison("basil-vs-thai-basil")
    print(comp["name"])

Learn more: Plant Comparisons · Botanical Guides

Command-Line Interface

pip install "plantfyi[cli]"

plantfyi search "lavender"     # Search across all plant species

MCP Server (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)

Add plant data to any AI assistant that supports Model Context Protocol.

pip install "plantfyi[mcp]"

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "plantfyi": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": ["--from", "plantfyi[mcp]", "python", "-m", "plantfyi.mcp_server"]
        }
    }
}

REST API Client

from plantfyi.api import PlantFYI

with PlantFYI() as api:
    plants = api.list_plants()            # Browse all 379,774 species
    families = api.list_families()        # Browse 734 families
    orders = api.list_orders()            # Browse 50 orders
    results = api.search("bamboo")        # Full-text search

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/v1/plants/	List all plants
GET	/api/v1/plants/{slug}/	Plant detail
GET	/api/v1/orders/	List all orders
GET	/api/v1/families/	List all families
GET	/api/v1/climate-zones/	List climate zones
GET	/api/v1/distributions/	List distributions
GET	/api/v1/countries/	List countries
GET	/api/v1/comparisons/	List comparisons
GET	/api/v1/glossary/	List glossary terms
GET	/api/v1/guides/	List guides
GET	/api/v1/search/?q={query}	Search across all content

curl -s "https://plantfyi.com/api/v1/plants/?limit=3"

Full API documentation at plantfyi.com/developers/. OpenAPI 3.1.0 spec: plantfyi.com/api/openapi.json.

API Reference

Function	Description
PlantFYI()	Create API client (base_url, timeout)
list_plants(**params)	List all plant species
get_plant(slug)	Get plant detail
list_orders(**params)	List all orders
get_order(slug)	Get order detail
list_families(**params)	List all families
get_family(slug)	Get family detail
list_climate_zones(**params)	List climate zones
get_climate_zone(slug)	Get climate zone detail
list_distributions(**params)	List distributions
list_countries(**params)	List countries
list_comparisons(**params)	List comparisons
list_glossary(**params)	List glossary terms
list_guides(**params)	List guides
search(query)	Search across all content

Learn More About Plants

• Browse: Plant Species · Families · Orders
• Reference: Climate Zones · Distributions · Countries
• Guides: Glossary · Guides
• API: REST API Docs · OpenAPI Spec

Nature FYI Family

Part of the FYIPedia open-source developer tools ecosystem — living organisms, wildlife, and natural history.

Package	PyPI	Description
speciesfyi	PyPI	49,112 species, 17,982 taxa, 846 ecoregions — speciesfyi.com
birdfyi	PyPI	11,251 birds, 40 orders, 258 families — birdfyi.com
fishfyi	PyPI	78 fish species, 48 orders, 188 families — fishfyi.com
plantfyi	PyPI	379,774 plants, 734 families, 50 orders — plantfyi.com
dinofyi	PyPI	6,142 dinosaurs, 15 periods, 198 countries — dinofyi.com

FYIPedia Developer Tools

Package	PyPI	npm	Description
colorfyi	PyPI	npm	Color conversion, WCAG contrast, harmonies — colorfyi.com
emojifyi	PyPI	npm	Emoji encoding & metadata for 3,953 emojis — emojifyi.com
symbolfyi	PyPI	npm	Symbol encoding in 11 formats — symbolfyi.com
unicodefyi	PyPI	npm	Unicode lookup with 17 encodings — unicodefyi.com
fontfyi	PyPI	npm	Google Fonts metadata & CSS — fontfyi.com
plantfyi	PyPI	—	Plant taxonomy & cultivation — plantfyi.com
speciesfyi	PyPI	—	Species taxonomy & biodiversity — speciesfyi.com
birdfyi	PyPI	—	Bird species encyclopedia — birdfyi.com
fishfyi	PyPI	—	Fish species & marine biology — fishfyi.com
dinofyi	PyPI	—	Dinosaur paleontology & fossil record — dinofyi.com

License

MIT