OrbTop

NCSU Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper

DEVELOPER TOOLSEDUCATION
Try on Apify

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper

Scrapes plant records from the NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Returns 50+ structured fields per plant — scientific name, common names, USDA hardiness zones, light and soil requirements, bloom traits, toxicity data, wildlife attraction, and gallery images — across the full ~6,500-plant database.

NC State Plant Toolbox Scraper Features

  • Extracts 50+ fields per plant record, including numerical height and width ranges in decimal feet
  • Collects taxonomic data: scientific name, genus, species, family, cultivar, phonetic spelling
  • Returns USDA hardiness zone ranges, light requirements, soil drainage, texture, and pH preferences
  • Captures bloom color, bloom season, flower description, and gardener value ratings
  • Extracts toxicity information — poisonous parts, severity, symptoms — plus edibility notes
  • Returns wildlife attraction lists (pollinators, birds, butterflies) and pest resistance data
  • Collects landscape use categories, landscape themes, and recommended propagation strategies
  • Discovers all plant URLs from the sitemap — no search queries, no pagination to manage
  • No proxies required. The site is clean SSR with no bot detection.

What Can You Do With NC State Plant Toolbox Data?

  • Horticulture researchers — build searchable plant databases with structured trait data for academic or extension projects
  • Landscape architects — filter plants by hardiness zone, light requirements, and mature size to generate site-appropriate plant palettes
  • App developers — power plant identification, garden planning, or companion planting tools with authoritative USDA-aligned data
  • Educators — export plant records for curriculum materials, field guides, or interactive botanical learning tools
  • Nursery operators — feed plant data into inventory systems or customer-facing product descriptions
  • Toxicology and safety teams — extract poison severity and symptom data for plant safety databases used in pediatric or veterinary contexts

How NC State Plant Toolbox Scraper Works

  1. Fetches the site's XML sitemap and filters to plant detail pages — roughly 6,500 URLs total
  2. Crawls each plant page using a Cheerio-based HTML crawler
  3. Parses the dt/dd key-value trait table on each page into a structured field map
  4. Writes one record per plant with all extracted fields to the dataset

Input

{
  "maxItems": 100
}
Field Type Default Description
maxItems integer — Maximum number of plant records to scrape. Leave blank to scrape all (~6,500 plants). Prefill: 10.

NC State Plant Toolbox Scraper Output Fields

{
  "id_plant": "hydrangea-paniculata",
  "scientific_name": "Hydrangea paniculata",
  "common_names": ["Panicle Hydrangea", "Pee Gee Hydrangea"],
  "family": "Hydrangeaceae",
  "genus": "Hydrangea",
  "species": "paniculata",
  "cultivar": null,
  "phonetic_spelling": "hy-DRAN-jee-uh pan-ick-yoo-LAY-tuh",
  "description": "Panicle hydrangea is a large deciduous shrub...",
  "plant_type": ["Shrub"],
  "habit_form": ["Arching", "Multi-stemmed"],
  "native_to": ["China", "Japan"],
  "usda_hardiness_zones": "3a-8b",
  "height_min_ft": 8.0,
  "height_max_ft": 15.0,
  "width_min_ft": 6.0,
  "width_max_ft": 12.0,
  "growth_rate": "Rapid",
  "maintenance": "Low",
  "light": ["Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)", "Partial shade"],
  "soil_drainage": ["Moist"],
  "soil_texture": ["Clay", "Loam", "Sand"],
  "soil_ph": ["Acid", "Neutral"],
  "water_use": "Medium",
  "bloom_color": ["White"],
  "bloom_time": ["Summer", "Fall"],
  "bloom_description": "The flowers appear in large conical panicles...",
  "flower_value_to_gardener": ["Attractive Flowers", "Cut Flowers", "Dried Flowers"],
  "leaf_color": ["Green"],
  "leaf_type": "Broadleaf",
  "leaf_arrangement": "Opposite",
  "fall_color": ["Red/Burgundy"],
  "fruit_type": "Capsule",
  "fruit_value_to_gardener": [],
  "stem_bark": "Bark color: Gray; Bark description: Peeling, cinnamon-brown",
  "landscape_uses": ["Foundation", "Hedge", "Specimen"],
  "landscape_themes": ["Cottage Garden", "Pollinator Garden"],
  "attracts": ["Bees", "Butterflies"],
  "resistant_to": ["Deer"],
  "problems": [],
  "poisonous_parts": [],
  "poison_severity": null,
  "poison_symptoms": null,
  "edibility": null,
  "propagation": ["Stem tip cuttings"],
  "cultivars_varieties": ["Limelight", "Pinky Winky", "Quick Fire", "Vanilla Strawberry"],
  "tags": ["NC", "Extension", "shrub"],
  "image_urls": ["https://s3.amazonaws.com/..."],
  "toolbox_url": "https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hydrangea-paniculata/"
}
Field Type Description
id_plant string NCSU toolbox slug used as primary key
scientific_name string Full scientific name
common_names array List of common names
family string Plant family
genus string Genus
species string Species epithet
cultivar string Cultivar name, if this is a cultivar page
phonetic_spelling string Phonetic pronunciation of the scientific name
description string Full descriptive text for the plant
plant_type array Plant types (e.g. Perennial, Shrub, Tree)
habit_form array Growth habit descriptors (e.g. Arching, Erect)
native_to array Country or region of origin
usda_hardiness_zones string USDA Plant Hardiness Zone range (e.g. 3a-8b)
height_min_ft number Minimum height in decimal feet
height_max_ft number Maximum height in decimal feet
width_min_ft number Minimum width in decimal feet
width_max_ft number Maximum width in decimal feet
growth_rate string Growth rate descriptor
maintenance string Maintenance level (Low, Medium, High)
light array Light requirements
soil_drainage array Soil drainage preferences
soil_texture array Soil texture preferences
soil_ph array Soil pH preferences
water_use string Water use or moisture requirement descriptor
bloom_color array Flower/bloom colors
bloom_time array Bloom seasons or months
bloom_description string Descriptive text about the flowers
flower_value_to_gardener array Flower values (e.g. Attractive Flowers, Attracts Pollinators)
leaf_color array Leaf colors
leaf_type string Leaf type descriptor
leaf_arrangement string Leaf arrangement on stem
fall_color array Deciduous fall leaf colors
fruit_type string Fruit type descriptor
fruit_value_to_gardener array Fruit display, harvest time, or color descriptors
stem_bark string Combined stem and bark description
landscape_uses array Landscape location uses
landscape_themes array Landscape themes
attracts array Wildlife this plant attracts
resistant_to array Conditions or threats this plant resists
problems array Known problems (e.g. Poisonous to Humans)
poisonous_parts array Poisonous plant parts
poison_severity string Toxicity severity rating
poison_symptoms string Poisoning symptom description
edibility string Edibility notes
propagation array Recommended propagation strategies
cultivars_varieties array Known cultivar/variety names for this species
tags array Hashtag labels from the toolbox
image_urls array Plant gallery image URLs
toolbox_url string Canonical URL of the plant toolbox page

🔍 FAQ

How do I scrape the NC State plant database?

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper handles discovery automatically. Set maxItems to limit the run, or leave it blank to scrape all ~6,500 plants. No API key, no login.

What data can I get from the NC State Plant Toolbox?

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper returns 50+ fields per plant: taxonomy, USDA zones, dimensional data in decimal feet, bloom traits, soil and light requirements, toxicity ratings, wildlife attraction data, landscape uses, and gallery images. It's the full record, not a summary.

How much does NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper cost to run?

Pricing is per data record. A full scrape of ~6,500 plants runs well within a reasonable budget at the default coefficient. Scraping a subset — say 500 plants for a regional project — costs proportionally less.

Does NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper need proxies?

No. The NC State Plant Toolbox is a clean server-rendered site with no bot detection. The scraper hits it at a measured pace without residential proxy overhead.

Can I filter to specific plant types or zones?

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper does not filter during scraping — it collects all plants and returns the full field set. Filter after export using plant_type, usda_hardiness_zones, or light fields in your downstream tooling.

Need More Features?

Need custom filters, additional fields, or a different plant database? File an issue or get in touch.

Why Use NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Scraper?

  • Authoritative source — NC State Extension is a land-grant university program; data reflects peer-reviewed horticultural standards, not user submissions
  • Depth over breadth — 50+ structured fields per record, including numerical dimensions and granular toxicity data, means less cleanup and more usable output from the first run
  • No friction — no proxies, no authentication, no API quota to manage
Try on Apify