Flower Color Lookup - SuperSeeded

Find flowers by color using spectral reflectance data from the Floral Reflectance Database (FReD).

Overview

This endpoint searches a database of 2,509 flower spectral measurements to find flowers matching a given color. Colors are matched using perceptual distance in CIE LAB color space, providing results that align with human color perception. The data comes from the Floral Reflectance Database (FReD), a scientific database of flower spectral reflectance measurements used to study plant-pollinator interactions and color vision.

Color Input Formats

The color parameter accepts multiple formats:

Format	Examples
Color name	`red`, `blue`, `lavender`, `coral`, `chartreuse`
Hex code	`#FF5733`, `FF5733`, `#F00`
RGB values	`rgb(255, 87, 51)`, `255,87,51`

Supported Color Names

Common colors: red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, pink, white, black, brown, violet, magenta, cyan Flower-specific: lavender, coral, salmon, crimson, rose, peach, cream, ivory, gold, amber, lilac, mauve, plum, indigo, turquoise, chartreuse, burgundy, fuchsia, periwinkle

Query Parameters

string

required

The color to search for. Accepts color names, hex codes, or RGB values.

integer

default:"20"

Maximum number of results to return (1-100).

string

Filter by human-perceived color category. Use /v1/flowers/human-colours to list available values.

string

Filter by bee-perceived color category. Use /v1/flowers/bee-colours to list available values.

string

Filter by taxonomic family. Use /v1/flowers/families to list available families.

Response

object

Parsed query parameters.

Show properties

string

Original color input.

string

Detected input type: name, hex, or rgb.

array

Parsed RGB values [R, G, B].

array

Converted LAB values [L, a, b].

object

Applied filters.

array

Matching flowers sorted by color similarity.

Show Flower Match Object

integer

FReD database ID.

string

Scientific name (Genus species).

string

Taxonomic family.

string

Genus name.

string

Species epithet.

string

Human-perceived color category.

string

Bee-perceived color category.

array

RGB color values [R, G, B].

string

Hex color code.

array

CIE LAB color values [L, a, b].

number

Perceptual distance from query (lower is closer).

string

Collection country.

string

Sample collector.

integer

Total number of flowers in the database.

string

Academic citation for the data source.

Example Request

curl "https://api.superseeded.ai/v1/flowers/by-color?color=lavender&limit=5"

Example Response

{
  "query": {
    "input": "lavender",
    "type": "name",
    "rgb": [230, 230, 250],
    "lab": [91.28, 3.71, -9.66],
    "filters": {
      "human_colour": null,
      "bee_colour": null,
      "family": null
    }
  },
  "matches": [
    {
      "id": 1643,
      "scientific_name": "Geranium sylvaticum",
      "family": "Geraniaceae",
      "genus": "Geranium",
      "species": "sylvaticum",
      "human_colour": "pink",
      "bee_colour": "UV-blue",
      "rgb": [193, 177, 196],
      "hex": "#c1b1c4",
      "lab": [74.12, 8.45, -6.23],
      "color_distance": 17.84,
      "country": "Germany",
      "collector": "Chittka"
    },
    {
      "id": 2154,
      "scientific_name": "Campanula rotundifolia",
      "family": "Campanulaceae",
      "genus": "Campanula",
      "species": "rotundifolia",
      "human_colour": "violet",
      "bee_colour": "blue",
      "rgb": [178, 162, 201],
      "hex": "#b2a2c9",
      "lab": [69.45, 12.34, -18.67],
      "color_distance": 23.41,
      "country": "Switzerland",
      "collector": "Menzel"
    }
  ],
  "total_in_database": 2509,
  "citation": "Arnold SEJ, Faruq S, Savolainen V, McOwan PW, Chittka L, 2010 FReD: The Floral Reflectance Database — A Web Portal for Analyses of Flower Colour. PLoS ONE 5(12): e14287. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014287"
}

Understanding Bee Color Vision

Bees see colors differently than humans. They have three photoreceptors:

Photoreceptor	Peak Wavelength	Notes
UV	~340nm	Invisible to humans
Blue	~430nm	Similar to human blue
Green	~540nm	Similar to human green

Bees cannot see red but can see ultraviolet, which is invisible to humans. The bee_colour field indicates how bees perceive the flower:

UV: Reflects mainly ultraviolet
blue: Reflects mainly blue wavelengths
blue-green: Reflects blue and green
UV-blue: Appears “bee purple”
UV-green: Unique to bee vision
white: Broad spectrum reflection

Additional Endpoints

List Families

GET /v1/flowers/families

Returns all plant families with sample counts.

List Human Colors

GET /v1/flowers/human-colours

Returns all human-perceived color categories.

List Bee Colors

GET /v1/flowers/bee-colours

Returns all bee-perceived color categories.

Get Flower by ID

GET /v1/flowers/{id}

Returns complete record including spectral color space coordinates.

Data Citation

This endpoint uses data from the Floral Reflectance Database (FReD):

Arnold SEJ, Faruq S, Savolainen V, McOwan PW, Chittka L, 2010 FReD: The Floral Reflectance Database — A Web Portal for Analyses of Flower Colour. PLoS ONE 5(12): e14287. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014287

Error Handling

Status Code	Description
200	Success
400	Invalid color format
404	Flower ID not found (for `/{id}` endpoint)
503	Database not available

​Overview

​Color Input Formats

​Supported Color Names

​Query Parameters

​Response

​Example Request

​Example Response

​Understanding Bee Color Vision

​Additional Endpoints

​List Families

​List Human Colors

​List Bee Colors

​Get Flower by ID

​Data Citation

​Error Handling

Overview

Color Input Formats

Supported Color Names

Query Parameters

Response

Example Request

Example Response

Understanding Bee Color Vision

Additional Endpoints

List Families

List Human Colors

List Bee Colors

Get Flower by ID

Data Citation

Error Handling