diff --git a/plants/services/__init__.py b/plants/services/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/plants/services/perenual.py b/plants/services/perenual.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce94494
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plants/services/perenual.py
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import requests
+from django.conf import settings
+
+_BASE = 'https://perenual.com/api'
+
+
+def search_species(query):
+    """Query Perenual species-list endpoint. Returns list of result dicts or [] on any error."""
+    if not settings.PERENUAL_API_KEY:
+        return []
+    try:
+        resp = requests.get(
+            f'{_BASE}/species-list',
+            params={'q': query, 'key': settings.PERENUAL_API_KEY},
+            timeout=5,
+        )
+        resp.raise_for_status()
+        return resp.json().get('data', [])
+    except Exception:
+        return []
diff --git a/plants/tests/test_perenual.py b/plants/tests/test_perenual.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81219bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plants/tests/test_perenual.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import pytest
+from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
+from plants.services.perenual import search_species
+
+
+def test_search_returns_empty_without_api_key(settings):
+    settings.PERENUAL_API_KEY = ''
+    results = search_species('rose')
+    assert results == []
+
+
+def test_search_returns_data(settings):
+    settings.PERENUAL_API_KEY = 'test-key'
+    mock_resp = MagicMock()
+    mock_resp.json.return_value = {
+        'data': [{'id': 1, 'common_name': 'Rose', 'scientific_name': ['Rosa multiflora']}]
+    }
+    mock_resp.raise_for_status = MagicMock()
+
+    with patch('plants.services.perenual.requests.get', return_value=mock_resp):
+        results = search_species('rose')
+
+    assert len(results) == 1
+    assert results[0]['common_name'] == 'Rose'
+
+
+def test_search_returns_empty_on_timeout(settings):
+    settings.PERENUAL_API_KEY = 'test-key'
+    with patch('plants.services.perenual.requests.get', side_effect=Exception('timeout')):
+        results = search_species('rose')
+    assert results == []
+
+
+def test_search_returns_empty_on_bad_status(settings):
+    settings.PERENUAL_API_KEY = 'test-key'
+    mock_resp = MagicMock()
+    mock_resp.raise_for_status.side_effect = Exception('404')
+    with patch('plants.services.perenual.requests.get', return_value=mock_resp):
+        results = search_species('rose')
+    assert results == []