Iplantz began with the goal of helping people in warm-climate countries find information about useful tropical and subtropical plants and where they grow best. We believe that the more we know about these plants and their growing conditions, the better we can choose them for food, medicine, and materials. This knowledge not only helps us meet our basic needs but also opens up new economic opportunities.
The iplantz website highlights trees, shrubs, and herbs that people can use for food, medicine, materials, or other helpful purposes. All of these plants grow well in warm climates, including tropical, subtropical, and Mediterranean regions.
There are a few reasons for this. The main one is that the website focuses on plants suited to tropical, subtropical, and Mediterranean climates, so most of the countries and towns listed are in these regions. Some towns are not included because we do not have climate data for them. Right now, the database has 4,187 towns. If you want to suggest a town for the website, please let us know through the contact form.
Two main factors affect how well plants grow: the local climate and the soil conditions, such as texture, fertility, pH, and drainage. iPlantz gives you information about both, but we use them in different ways in our system.
Climate Matching: Our database has detailed climate profiles for hundreds of plant species, covering the temperature, rainfall, and dry-season conditions they need. We automatically compare these profiles with climate data from towns around the world. If a plant’s climate needs match a town’s climate, that town appears on the map as a good place to grow the plant.
Soil Suitability: We list the soil texture and pH level each plant needs. You can search our plant database by soil type to find plants that will grow well in your soil.
A Note on Local Soil: We know what kind of soil each plant prefers, but iPlantz does not keep soil data for each town. Soil can be very different even between backyards in the same town, so we do not use soil as a factor in our automated town-mapping feature.
Conclusion: Our maps show you where the climate is right for growing a plant and keeping it productive. We recommend testing your local soil to ensure it aligns with the specific soil preferences listed on the plant's page before planting.
The climate variables used to determine whether a particular tree or plant species is a match for a town and will grow and be reasonably productive there include:
Air temperature
Annual high
Annual low
Low of the coldest month
Absolute low
Low of the warmest month
High of the warmest month
Rainfall
Annual rainfall
Rainfall pattern (Humid tropical, Savanna dry winter, Savanna dry summer, Humid subtropical, Mediterranean, Oceanic, Arid or Semi-arid)
Length of the dry season (months)
Signing up on the website allows you to upload photos of plants (and their uses) that can then be shared with the iplantz community.