The International Plant Names Index: Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a list of names for the Meaceae – are you interested to have this data?

Contact the editorial team

I notice that you have a mistake in the record for Meum album Him. What should I do?

You will soon be able to make a contribution direct from this site, but for now, contact the editorial team.

Where are the fungi/microbes/infraspecifics from Europe?

IPNI aims to include names of all seed plants but the data are not yet complete. For a list of what is included see About the Index. Since 2004, fern names from the Index Filicum have been included

I searched for a name that should be in the index, but I didn't find it. What am I doing wrong?

Check our search tips and sample searches for hints on searching IPNI and also read the page on understanding the data. If you still can't find it, let us know.

Can I use the Index to check the correct names for the taxa in my study?

No. IPNI is simply a list of the names which have been published to date. You can use it to check spelling, bibliographic details, and in some cases type details but the fact that a name is listed in the index does not mean that it is the currently accepted name for any particular taxon.

I can't connect to your search pages - what's going on?

Some sites have firewall restrictions which mean that they can't gain access to IPNI search results. If you can never connect to our data then this may be the reason. IPNI uses port 8181 to access the servlet it uses for searching. Your system administration may be preventing access to this port - we are working on this situation and hope to rectify it soon. Meanwhile, you may need to discuss access to this port with your system administrator

If you can usually search but suddenly you aren't getting any results then one of our servers may be down. Check the mirrors page for information on how to find another server

How can I use IPNI with my database?

Eventually it will be possible to subscribe to copies of the data, or to link your database directly to IPNI using the API. For now you can use URL encoding to put links in to individual IPNI records or searches from your pages or database.

Can I use IPNI to search by common (vernacular) name?

No. IPNI does not include vernacular names of plants as these are rarely formally published. If you are looking for information about a plant for which you only have a common name you may find the following resources useful (Please note that these links are to external sites which are not maintained by IPNI)
- The Royal Horticultural Society Plant Finder is a useful site for cultivar names
- Michigan State University Extension has a database of hardy ornamental plants which can be searched by keyword including common names
- Horticopia also have a database which allows searches by cultivar and common name as well as scientific name
- SEPASAL contains information on useful plants from arid and semi-arid lands, and allows searches by vernacular names from many countries
- Raintree has alphabetical lists of common and scientific names of rainforest plants
- The Dictionary of Common Names from the Plant Press translates between scientific and common names and vice versa
- The USDA's Plants database has common names for plants from the US
- For a reference book including many English vernacular names try The Plant-Book, A portable dictionary of the vascular plants by D.J.Mabberley (Cambridge University Press, 1997)

If your question does not appear in the above list please contact us.