You are identifying plant interests in almost every plant lover. Whether you want to know about the new houseplant, outdoor plant, or any plant you find on your walk, you can use your smartphone to know anything and everything about them. Also, by knowing what you have in your garden, you can take better care of them.
Having a plant identification app is very handy if you are passionate about plants or a wildlife explorer. There are many plant identification apps made for this purpose. In addition to essential plant recognition apps, some even identify flowers, trees, vegetables, medicinal plants, weeds, mushrooms, indoor plants, toxic plants, wildflowers, and many more. Moreover, you can also download some apps for plant care that give you watering reminders, garden management tips, etc.
However, here, you’ll see the six best plant identification apps every plant lover should know of.
If you’re looking for a free app that allows you to identify a plant merely by capturing its picture on your phone, you should try Plantagenet. The app groups all its images which are over one million, into “projects” named :
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- Thematic, including ornamental and cultivated plants;
- Geographical, covering plants from around the globe;
- Micro-projects such as specific flora of a particular, and perhaps very local region.
The app only identifies plants whose images are already uploaded by a user thus are present in its database. You can also browse the extensive directory of plants through family, genus, or species. However, it’s crucial to select the correct project, or else results won’t be accurate.
iNaturalist
Another free app for Android and iOS is iNaturalist. The app lets you know about any plant or animal from different parts of the world or close to your location. iNaturalist also provides the naturalists and explorers a community where they can connect and share their findings to understand better the scientists working to preserve nature.
Identification of a plant is confirmed through image recognition technology and other users. The app allows the users to explore a comprehensive database of plants and animals, insects, butterflies, etc. Suppose you don’t need any advanced features of the app. In that case, you can also download a simpler version of Seek, which also originated from iNaturalist.
Plantsnap
Available on both Android and iOS, Plantsnap works on an AI algorithm that requires you to take clear and crisp pictures of a flower or just a few leaves of any plant. Then, within a few seconds, the algorithm identifies the plants based on the image you’ve submitted.
However, the app is not entirely free as it has both free and a premium version. The free version allows you to take limited snaps daily along with a few ads. This should be enough if you are going to use the app occasionally. The premium version has no ads. In addition to plant identification, the app also gives you information about the plant’s size, maturity, genus, origin, and flowers.
LeafSnap
LeafSnap is another app for plant recognition. With a friendly, seven user-friendly interface, it becomes easy to find out the name of every app-known plant. As per the makers, the app can identify around 90% of all known species of trees and plants. The app is free but contains ads. However, you can avoid ads if you opt for the premium version. Other than ads, there is no limitation in the free version.
What’s different is that LeafSnap can identify a plant based on a picture submitted by you of any part of the plant, including flowers, leaves, fruits, tree bark, etc. Then, after you’ve submitted the picture, the app gives you a list of possible matches. You can select one that looks more similar according to you. So far, the app has never shown any difficulty in identifying common plants; hence, it’s ideal for gardeners and florists.
PictureThis
The app claims to be “a botanist in your pocket.” PictureThis uses advanced artificial intelligence, which has identified over 27 million plants and claims 99% accuracy. Moreover, the app offers other plant care tips on pest control, watering, and many more. It also provides a social platform for plant lovers and has been highly rated on Google and Apple.
The app is not free, and you’ll automatically receive a subscription after a free seven-day trial. However, many users commented that they were automatically enrolled for a one-year subscription and couldn’t cancel it afterward. So, while this app offers many benefits to all plant lovers but it’s advisable to decide beforehand whether the one-year subscription would be helpful for you.
Flower Checker
Flower Checker is different from the rest of the app mentioned in the list. Rather than showing computer-based results, it has a team of experts to analyze the picture uploaded by a user and post identification of it on the app. Though it takes more time than its automated counterparts, Flower Checker claims 50% of its results are posted within one hour of uploading the picture.
The payment plan is also quite different. Due to human involvement, the app charges a small fee for every identification made. However, the first three identifications are free, and no fee is charged if the team cannot identify the plant.
The Bottom Line
Plant Identification apps are gaining popularity because of their valuable features. However, if you can’t make up your mind or use the app regularly, try the free versions available on the app market. Use them for a while, and if you like, you can subscribe for paid and premium versions. Most of the apps mentioned in the list are reliable and offer maximum accuracy. Still, you can check the reviews and ratings before subscribing to any app.
