The Plants Biosecurity Index (PBI) is a searchable database of over 30,000 plant species. It provides information on whether they can be imported into New Zealand as seeds or nursery stock. You can use this tool to search for the import specifications of any genus or species listed in the database. The search results are linked to detailed information within PIER Search itself.
Search the PBI
Fill in (or leave blank) whichever fields and checkboxes you wish.
To search for a specific genus and/or species name, enter it in the "Search by plant name" (Scientific or common name) field. You can search using the full scientific name, or any part of it. You can also search by common name in the same field.
In addition, you can search using import specifications, with or without entering any text in the plant name field. If the plant name field isn't used, this may return a large set of search results.
Search results - too few or zero results
If your search doesn't result in any records, try using the following search techniques:
If you've checked a number of different checkboxes, try the same search with "Show all" checked for both sets instead
Try searching for genus rather than species, eg 'Veronica' instead of 'Veronica alba' in the plant name field
If a search on a common name doesn't return the results you were expecting, try the scientific name instead
Check your spelling is correct
For further information and help, please contact Plant Imports by emailing PlantImports@mpi.govt.nz
