> cat /system/about.txt

// FILE_OUTPUT: about.txt

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> It started, as most obsessions do, with a single specimen. Dr. Elena Vasquez brought home a half-dead Monstera adansonii from a clearance shelf in 2019. Within a week she had repotted it, rigged a grow light on a timer, and started a spreadsheet to track new leaf unfurlings. Within a month, the spreadsheet had tabs. Within a year, it had become a relational database running on a decommissioned server in her kitchen.
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> CHLOROPHYLL_DB was never meant to be a shop. It was a cataloging system — genus, species, substrate composition, light requirements, watering cadence, propagation history — every variable tracked with the rigor of a peer-reviewed study. But when the collection outgrew the apartment, the balcony, and then the rented greenhouse, something had to give. The database held 400+ records. The apartment held 12 livable square feet.
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> The storefront opened in 2022, not as a retail decision but as an act of ecological triage. Every plant that leaves here carries its full provenance data — origin nursery, quarantine dates, substrate batch number, acclimatization notes. We don't sell plants. We facilitate adoptions from a living archive. The database is the shop. The shop is the database.
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> The system has been running continuously for 847 days. Some records have corrupted. Some specimens have been lost to root rot or hubris. But the database persists, grows, and occasionally glitches in ways we've learned to find beautiful. Welcome to the archive. Browse responsibly.

// SYSTEM_PROTOCOLS

PROTOCOL_01 [ACTIVE]

Source only from certified sustainable growers. Every supplier is audited annually. No wild-harvested specimens. No mass-production greenhouses. Each origin nursery has a verified entry in our supplier registry with full chain-of-custody documentation.

PROTOCOL_02 [ACTIVE]

Zero single-use plastic in packaging. All wrapping uses recycled kraft paper and natural twine. Pots are terracotta, ceramic, or reclaimed. Plastic nursery pots are returned to suppliers for reuse in a closed-loop cycle.

PROTOCOL_03 [ACTIVE]

Compostable shipping materials exclusively. Cornstarch packing peanuts, mushroom-mycelium molded inserts, and seaweed-based tape. Every package can go directly into a home compost bin. Decomposition time: 45-90 days.

PROTOCOL_04 [ACTIVE]

Local delivery by cargo bicycle within 5km radius. Zero-emission last-mile fulfillment. Plants arrive with less transit shock than any vehicle delivery. Rider-botanists perform a 30-second health check on arrival.

// CULTIVATION_ALGORITHMS

ALGO: ACCLIMATIZATION
/* Quarantine and light adjustment protocol */
INPUT: new_specimen
SET quarantine_days = 14
SET light_level = 40%
WHILE day < quarantine_days:
  SCAN pest_indicators, fungal_markers
  INCREMENT light_level BY 4% PER day
  LOG leaf_turgor, root_color, new_growth
IF clear: MOVE TO catalog_staging
ELSE: EXTEND quarantine + 7 days
/* Success rate: 97.3% — 2.7% returned to supplier */
ALGO: SUBSTRATE_MIX
/* Custom soil calibration per genus */
INPUT: genus_profile, root_type
LOAD base_mix = [coco_coir, perlite, orchid_bark]
SWITCH root_type:
  CASE epiphytic: bark 60%, perlite 30%, charcoal 10%
  CASE terrestrial: coir 40%, compost 30%, perlite 20%, sand 10%
  CASE succulent: grit 50%, sand 30%, coir 20%
CALIBRATE pH TO genus_profile.optimal_ph
/* All substrates mixed in-house. Batch-numbered. */
ALGO: HYDRATION_SCHEDULE
/* Moisture monitoring with manual verification */
INPUT: specimen_id, sensor_array
POLL moisture_level EVERY 6 hours
IF moisture < genus.threshold_low:
  ALERT cultivation_team
  REQUIRE manual_finger_test BEFORE watering
LOG water_volume, timestamp, operator_id
IF overwater_detected: FLAG + drain protocol
/* Sensors supplement — never replace — human judgment */

// AUTHORIZED_USERS

USER: elena_vasquez ROLE: HEAD_BOTANIST ACCESS_LEVEL: ROOT

Founder. Former computational biologist. Left a postdoc studying gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana to build a database of houseplants and never looked back. Can identify 200+ species by leaf shape alone. Responsible for all supplier vetting and quarantine protocol design. Talks to the plants. They seem to listen.

TAXONOMY QUARANTINE SUPPLIER_AUDIT ARACEAE
LAST_LOGIN: 2026-02-11 08:04:22 UTC SESSIONS: 2,847 UPTIME: 99.7%
USER: marcus_chen ROLE: CULTIVATION_SPECIALIST ACCESS_LEVEL: ADMIN

Third-generation orchid grower turned substrate chemist. Manages all growing environments, soil mixing, and acclimatization schedules. Built the moisture-sensor array from salvaged Arduino boards. Believes the perfect perlite-to-bark ratio is a spiritual practice. He's not entirely wrong.

SUBSTRATE HYDROPONICS SENSOR_ARRAY ORCHIDACEAE
LAST_LOGIN: 2026-02-11 07:31:08 UTC SESSIONS: 1,923 UPTIME: 98.2%
USER: priya_sharma ROLE: CUSTOMER_INTERFACE ACCESS_LEVEL: USER

Plant matchmaker. Translates between human desire ("I want something that won't die") and database query (--light:low --maintenance:minimal --pet-safe:true). Runs the cargo bicycle delivery fleet (two bikes, one trailer). Previously managed a rare bookshop, which turns out is eerily similar to running a rare plant shop.

CUSTOMER_OPS DELIVERY PLANT_MATCHING RETAIL
LAST_LOGIN: 2026-02-10 17:45:33 UTC SESSIONS: 1,104 UPTIME: 97.8%

// SYSTEM_ARCHITECTURE

/* CHLOROPHYLL_DB — Process Architecture v3.2 */ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ SOURCING │────▶│ QUARANTINE │────▶│ CATALOGING │────▶│ DISPLAY │────▶│ ADOPTION │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────┴───────┐ ┌──────┴───────┐ ┌──────┴───────┐ ┌──────┴───────┐ ┌──────┴───────┐ │ Certified │ │ 14-day hold │ │ Full record │ │ Storefront + │ │ Provenance │ │ suppliers │ │ Pest scan │ │ Photo/data │ │ Online shelf │ │ data packet │ │ Chain-of- │ │ Light ramp │ │ Substrate │ │ Care tags │ │ Care guide │ │ custody docs │ │ Health log │ │ batch link │ │ QR database │ │ Follow-up │ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ FEEDBACK_LOOP: adoption_outcome → sourcing_preference (reinforcement learning, manual weights) ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════