Where the plant data comes from
A recommendation is only as good as the facts behind it. Every fact in the catalog keeps its source, license, retrieval date, method, confidence and review state — and the site shows them.
Facts, recommendations and pictures are separate
A plant can be a valid species, native to your state, and still wrong for a wet shady corner. So the catalog stores facts (taxonomy, distribution, size, needs), the planner computes recommendations from those facts plus your site, and representations (symbols, 3D proxies) are stored apart from both.
How a fact gets in
- Raw source data is kept as an unchanged snapshot.
- Names are matched to accepted taxa deterministically first; fuzzy matches go to a review queue. Cultivars are never merged because trade names look alike.
- Each fact records its source, license, retrieval date, method and confidence.
- A regional reviewer verifies the record, and its state changes from “draft — unreviewed” to “reviewed”.
What “draft — unreviewed” means
The launch catalog is an editorial compilation of typical landscape values written by our team. It is useful for planning, but no regional reviewer has signed it off yet, and every plant page says so. Invasive and other legal-status statements cite the jurisdiction’s own list and get extra review.
What gets indexed
Plant and region pages are only offered to search engines when they pass a quality score: required fields present, sources cited, an original summary, and no unresolved policy issue. Sparse pages are still visible to visitors but marked noindex. We don’t generate pages for every plant × city combination.
Corrections and takedowns
Found an error, or believe content uses your material without rights? Email labs@laan.com with the plant’s id (shown on each page) and your source. Disputed facts are flagged while they are reviewed.
Images
Illustrations on this site are drawn from data by our own code. We don’t use nursery photos or descriptions without rights.
Sources
Every source a catalog fact may cite. A source with no retrieval date is listed for verification and hasn’t been imported yet.
- OpenLandscape3D editorial compilation (pass 1)OpenLandscape3D ·Editorial ·License: MIT · retrieved 2026-10-06· cited 227×
Original summaries, design notes and typical landscape values compiled from general horticultural knowledge. Draft until a regional reviewer verifies each record against the primary sources below.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility ·Taxonomy ·License: CC-BY-4.0 · not yet retrieved
Name matching and gbifKey lookup. No keys imported in pass 1.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ·Taxonomy ·License: see-source-terms · not yet retrieved
Accepted names, authorship and synonymy. No powoId values imported in pass 1.
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service ·Taxonomy ·License: public-domain-us-gov · not yet retrieved
U.S. distribution, nativity and PLANTS symbols. Only well-known symbols are included; reviewers confirm each.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ·Horticulture ·License: public-domain-us-gov · not yet retrieved
Water-smart plant selection guidance used to frame waterUse classes.
- USDA Agricultural Research Service ·Climate ·License: public-domain-us-gov · not yet retrieved
Zone ranges for the pilot regions.
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ·Climate ·License: public-domain-us-gov · not yet retrieved
Freeze-date and precipitation normals behind the regional frost defaults (representative stations; sites override).
- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ·Policy ·License: public-record · not yet retrieved· cited 6×
Prohibited species may not be sold, imported, transported or introduced; regulated species may be sold with a label and are illegal to introduce into free-living state.
- Connecticut Invasive Plants Council / Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (UConn) ·Policy ·License: public-record · not yet retrieved· cited 6×
Species on the list that are also named in CGS §22a-381d are banned from sale; reviewer to confirm which applies per species.
- Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources ·Policy ·License: public-record · not yet retrieved· cited 6×
Listed plants are banned from importation, sale and distribution in Massachusetts.
- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Noxious, Invasive and Poisonous Plant Program ·Policy ·License: public-record · not yet retrieved· cited 2×
Callery pear was added with a phased sale ban; reviewer to record the effective date.
- Florida Invasive Species Council ·Policy ·License: see-source-terms · not yet retrieved· cited 8×
Category I = altering native communities; Category II = increasing in abundance. Advisory list; Florida legal prohibitions are in FDACS 5B-57 and FWC 68A-23.
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council (Georgia Invasive Species Council) ·Policy ·License: see-source-terms · not yet retrieved· cited 2×
Advisory ranking (Category 1 = most serious). Not a sales ban.
- Invasive Non-Native Plants That Threaten Wildlands in Arizona (Arizona Wildlands Invasive Plant Working Group, 2005)Arizona Wildlands Invasive Plant Working Group / Southwest Vegetation Management Association ·Policy ·License: see-source-terms · not yet retrieved· cited 2×
Advisory ecological ranking; reviewer to add a stable URL. Distinct from the state noxious weed rule below.
- Arizona Department of Agriculture ·Policy ·License: public-record · not yet retrieved
State prohibited, regulated and restricted noxious weeds. No pass-1 plant cites it yet; listed so reviewers check ornamentals (e.g. fountain grass) against the rule text.
- New Mexico Department of Agriculture ·Policy ·License: public-record · not yet retrieved· cited 2×
Class A/B/C noxious weeds; Class C species are widespread and managed locally.