Terms

Terms of Use and Privacy

Effective October 23, 2026

plantindex.org (the "site") is operated by Vanilla Software, L.L.C. ("we" or "us"). By using the site you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use it.

1. Where the plant data comes from

The site does not create plant facts. Each plant entry is compiled from third-party sources, and each one links to the pages it came from:

Material from these sources remains subject to each source's own terms and licenses. If a source doesn't state something, we leave that field out rather than guess.

2. Provided as is, with no warranty

Plant data is provided "as is" and "as available." It may be incomplete, out of date or wrong, including errors carried over from a source or introduced when it was compiled. We make no warranty, express or implied, about its accuracy, completeness or fitness for any purpose.

3. Not advice, and not for eating

Nothing on the site is horticultural, medical, veterinary or foraging advice. Plant names, photos and attributes can be mistaken, and many plants are toxic to people, pets or livestock.

Do not eat, touch, or use any plant (for food, medicine, or on animals) based on this site. Confirm a plant's identity and safety with a qualified expert, and check local guidance before planting.

4. Accounts

You don't need an account to browse. To save favorites, you sign in with your email address: we email a 6-digit code that expires after 10 minutes and can be used once. There are no passwords. When you first sign in, you choose a username and, if you like, a display name.

Signed-in users can favorite plants. Your favorites list appears on your profile page at plantindex.org/user/your-username. It is public by default; you can make it private at any time in Settings. The site also shows how many people have favorited each plant, as a total with no names attached. Usernames and display names are visible to anyone who views your profile.

5. Acceptable use

Please don't:

  • choose a username or display name that is unlawful, offensive, or impersonates someone else;
  • try to get into accounts or data that aren't yours, or get around the site's security, rate limits or sign-in checks;
  • overload the site, or scrape it in ways that degrade it for others;
  • use the site to break the law or to infringe anyone's rights.

6. Termination

You can stop using the site at any time. We may suspend or delete an account, or remove a username or display name, if it breaks these terms or puts the site or other users at risk. We may also change or discontinue the site, or any part of it, at any time.

7. Privacy

We collect only what the site needs to work:

  • Account data: your email address, username, display name, the date you joined, and your favorites-privacy setting.
  • Favorites: which plants you've favorited, and when.
  • Sign-in codes: stored only as a one-way hash until they expire or are used.
  • Cookies: a signed session cookie that keeps you signed in for up to 30 days, a cookie holding your username so the page can show that you're signed in, and a security token that protects against cross-site requests. There are no advertising or tracking cookies.
  • Rate-limit records: when a sign-in code is requested, we record the time, a hash of the email address, and your IP address, to stop abuse. These records are deleted after about 24 hours.
  • Server logs and analytics: the site runs behind Cloudflare. Cloudflare Web Analytics collects aggregate, cookie-free page-view and performance data, and our server keeps standard request logs.

Sign-in emails are sent through an email delivery provider. We do not sell or rent your personal data, and we don't share it except with the service providers needed to run the site, or when the law requires it.

Deleting your data: you can make your favorites private at any time in Settings. To have your account and favorites deleted, send a request to Vanilla Software, L.L.C. from the email address on the account. We will delete the account and its favorites.

8. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, Vanilla Software, L.L.C. and its members are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss or harm arising from your use of the site or your reliance on its content, including any harm from eating, touching, planting or otherwise using a plant. Where liability can't be excluded, our total liability to you is limited to US$100.

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be brought only in the state or federal courts located in Texas, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

10. Changes

We may update these terms. When we do, we'll change the effective date at the top. If you keep using the site after an update, you accept the revised terms.