‘Wait, What Is That?’ 12 Best Plant Identification Apps That Tell You What’s Growing in Your Yard or Along the Trail
Have you ever sat back and really thought about how much easier our tasks are nowadays with the help of the growing number of ingenious apps? For instance, if you need to lose weight, there's an app to help with that. Or, if you want to start running, there's an app to coach you along. There are even ways to identify plants with an app. Just take a picture of the plant in question and the app will tell you what it is. This could be particularly important when you want to identify poison ivy or other poisonous plants while out hiking.
Some of the best plant identification apps not only identify what you are looking at but have the added bonus of plant care tips and the ability to recognize diseases. If you like to garden or landscape, then these apps can be a lifesaver—literally. Plus, the apps can identify a plant in seconds which saves so much valuable time. Remember when you would have to look everything up in books? That seems like ancient history. Even Googling takes more time than these apps do.
If you are confused about which app to use, we've listed 12 of the best apps to ID plants. Depending on your needs and how much you want to spend, there should be a perfect app for you. And, if you just want to try one out, some are completely free, some have free versions and others have free trials.
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12 Best Plant Identification Apps
1. PlantNet
PlantNet has been around since 2013 for anybody to use. All you have to do is snap a picture of a plant and send it to the app to be identified. It will identify plants by their leaf, flower or fruit from species found all over the world. However, it does help to enable the GPS to aid in identification. This app is supported by 45 languages and is the best totally free plant identification app.
2. PictureThis
This app can identify over 1,000,000 plants with 98 percent accuracy. They have both a free version and a premium version that costs $29.99/year. You can also get PictureThis Plus for $34.99/year, PictureThis Pro for $39.99/year and PictureThis Family Plan for $49.99. This is one of the top plant identification apps if you get one of these premium versions. Luckily, you can use a free trial to try out the premium version before buying.
3. PlantSnap
PlantSnap will identify over 600,000 plants in its database. That is 90 percent of all known plants! Just snap a photo and the app will tell you in seconds what the plant is. It can also identify mushrooms. The app is free to use on both IOS and Android but the premium version is better and costs $20/year. They also give you a free seven-day trial for the premium version to see how you like it first.
4. Seek by iNaturalist
iNaturalist is a great identification app for families. Not only does it identify plants but it will identify animals and birds as well. For added fun, you can earn badges for seeing different types of birds, amphibians, plants and fungi as you participate in monthly observation challenges. The best part is that this app is totally free to use.
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5. Plantin
This app is free to use for plant identification but there are also some in-app purchases you can make for extended uses like plant care or premium access. Their yearly premium access packages run from $19.99-$39.99 or you can purchase a lifetime premium access for $49.99. They also have weekly and monthly packages available. With premium access, the app will identify over 10.5 million plants, give you plant consultant assistance and even an accurate diagnosis of plant diseases.
6. NatureID
This app does it all. It identifies plants as well as provides care guides and care reminders and it diagnoses plant diseases. It's like your own personal plant care assistant. The premium subscription is only a one-time cost of $20 and lasts a lifetime.
7. LeafSnap
LeafSnap is easy to use and identifies more than 32,000 plants. The app costs $4.99/month or $25.99/year but comes with a three-day free trial. After identifying a plant, you also get a brief description of the plant and links to additional sites with more information.
8. Botan
Botan is an AI plant identifier that includes plant care tips and disease diagnosis. If you need expert care, you can also chat with a botanist online 24/7. Most of the features of this app are free to use and it does include some in-app purchase options.
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9. Blossom
With over 12,000 plants in its database, Blossom is also a reliable app for plant identification. Besides plant identification, you get unlimited care reminders, disease ID, a water calculator, advice from botanists and a gardening schedule. You can try the app for free and then the monthly subscription of $4 applies.
10. Flower Checker
If you don't like the idea of an AI-powered app and prefer human experts, then Flower Checker might be for you. When you take a photo of the mystery plant, you then send it to a team of botanists and horticulturists who will identify it for you. The disadvantage is that the results are not immediate and can take a couple of hours or over a day.
11. Planta
Planta provides plant identification as well as plant care tips. You just scan your plant and get an ID and care advice. This Sweden-based app is free to use.
12. GardenAnswers
This plant identification app is free to use. You only pay a fee when you have a question that one of the experts answers. The cost for that is $1.99 per question.
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