More than 100 scientific families of plants are represented in Japanese flower-and-bird art. Some families are more popular than others with artists. The families which include a large number of species grown in gardens or as a crop are more popular than families with fewer garden and crop plants, as shown in the table below.

This relationship between popularity and number of garden and crop plants suggests that a family's popularity with artists is related to its familiarity (i.e., the most popular families are more familiar to artists because some of their family members are grown in gardens or as a crop). Some examples of the garden and crop plants included in Japanese flower-and-bird art are shown below.