Elevate plant identification with varieties

Introducing the new 'Varieties' model

As the world of houseplants and ornamental varieties continues to flourish, many people now seek more than species identification. Our new 'Varieties' model responds to this demand and offers you a unique opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. With this expansion of the Plant.id, you can easily integrate enhanced plant identification into your product.

‍The coverage

The world of varieties and cultivars is vast, so we've carefully selected the most common ones, totaling 819 classes. Most of the classes in this model are taxonomic cultivars (cultivated varieties), such as Epipremnum aureum 'Marble Queen'. But the model includes other taxonomical levels, here's a breakdown and the corresponding number of classes:

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These taxonomic levels may be combined, following the sequence Subspecies > Variety > Cultivar/Trade Name. Here are some examples:

• Philodendron hederaceum var. oxycardium 'Brasil'
• Syringa pubescens subsp. patula 'Miss Kim'
• Yucca gloriosa var. tristis Walberton's® Bright Star

We have used Garden.org as the authority for cultivated taxa (cultivars and trade names) and Gbif.org as the authority for wild-growing taxa (subspecies and varieties).

How to implement it

A new parameter, classification_level, is introduced (see the Documentation). This parameter allows you to customize the level of scientific names returned in the response. There are three options:

• classification_level = all: genus, species and infraspecies names (for example Philodendron hederaceum var. oxycardium 'Brasil')‍
• classification_level = species: genus and species epithet (for example Philodendron hederaceum); this is the default option‍
• classification_level = genus: genus only (for example Philodendron)

We also updated the (good old) species model, adding 2,140 new classes and improving accuracy. Check out our blog post!