The fans of greenery and nature don’t have much to do with smartphones. Real nature lovers believe in exploring nature instead of sticking to mobile phones for hours. After all, smartphones cannot plant crops, weed the gardens or go on hikes. However, smartphones can prove themselves to be an excellent boon for nature lovers. They can help in identifying house plants in one’s garden. Smartphones are also the storehouses of several gardening related information that includes tips and tricks on how to grow stuff better. They can have general information about the plants and the best nature and environment they thrive in. There is always a Google search option available to solve any gardening-related problems and answer the questions regarding different plant species.
Identifying a plant is an interest of all plant and nature lovers. Plant lovers are always keen to explore various plant species, whether they are houseplants, outdoor plants, or the random ones they find during a walk. There are as many plant identifier apps available on the internet as there are several plant species. There are also tons of plant identifier apps available on smartphones to help plant lovers and gardeners. These apps will let you know about the plant and make it feasible for you to research the likes and dislikes of that particular plant. However, the most confusing and crucial thing is deciding and choosing the best plant identification app for oneself. It is the most important thing for getting a good experience.
Listed below are the 10 best plant identifier apps that include free plant identifier app and also some paid plant identification apps. Please have a look at all of them before choosing the most desirable one for yourself. Some of these apps can also identify flowers, trees and garden insects. Therefore these apps are sure to be the best choice for garden lovers. Here are those 10 best plant identifier apps:
1. Agrobase
Price: Free
Agrobase is a perfect and free app to identify plants and tops our list of the best plant identification apps. It is a professional, serious and user-friendly app. It is genuinely good not only for the gardeners and nature-lovers but also for the farmers. It is a storehouse of an extensive database that contains plants and nature-related information. It has information regarding plants, weeds, pests, insects and even plant diseases. It can be a boon for the people who frequently desire to identify some plants or get some information regarding gardening or farming. It can be beneficial for identifying a range and wide varieties of plants. The app also features a web app, detailed description and good photos. This plant identification app ensures that it provides detailed information and description of plants to its user. The best thing about the app is that it comes up with frequent updates, and with each update, it becomes user friendly and more feasible to use. However, it can be a bit of overkill for casual gardeners, but it provides information that makes this plant identification app worth using. It, without a second thought, is the best app for plant lovers.
2. FlowerChecker
Price: Free/ $1.99 for the in-app purchases.
It is one of the best plant identification apps, but it is also a very popular flower identifier. However, this app works as a service. It is a user-friendly app in which one needs to send a picture of the flower or the plant to the experts to receive detailed information and answers from them. The experts in the domain give detailed information on what kind of plant is this. Although the app is not free and the user has to pay a cost of about $1 for each identification. The app claims that this is due to the fact that their experts identify the type of plant and give information and details about it and not the computer algorithms. Thus the payment of $1 received by the user is used to pay those experts and professionals. Despite the app being paid, it works really great to be considered. This app is handy for identifying the rare flowers that cannot be found with a google search.
3. Google Play Books (or your desired e-reader platform)
Price: Free/ Book price may vary
Plant lovers love exploring nature as much as they love being within it. Growing plants for show or having some advantage in return has been one of humankind’s oldest activities. There is endless information about the related topics on the internet. The virtual visual or written information gives a broader domain to the information one is looking for. This information is generally very detailed and contains history, flower, plant or tree identification-related information. Hence these knowledge-based apps can also be counted in the category of tree identification app. These applications also include information related to how to grow and care for the plants. Google play books are lovely because it syncs with the Google account on one’s Android Device. The other related options have some prominent names like Nook by Barness&Noble and Amazon Kindle. These all applications have books related to identifying house plants, gardening, bugs, pests and other related information.
4. PlantNet Plant Identification
Price: Free (No credit card details required)
PlantNet is a renowned plant identification app. It describes itself as a “citizen science project on biodiversity”. This application groups about 1 Million of its images into projects. These projects are:
- Geographical: It covers plant species from around the world.
- Thematic: It includes ornamental and cultivated plants.
- Micro-Projects: It has specific flora confined to a particular region or geography.
The app’s limitation is that it can identify what plant is this only if its image already exists in the database. It means it can only remember the plants that some other user already shared. The application claims to have over 20,000 plant species stored in its database, growing significantly with each new identification being made. Like all other apps, this plant identification app has a critical position and quality of images. There are also tutorials on the Plantnet website to help the user with this. Also, while using it, it should be noted that one should carefully use the correct ‘project’, which otherwise would give undesirable or null results. Also, when the app identifies a plant, it shows some related similar plants to confirm the user’s choice. This plant identification app also lets the user browse its extensive directory of plants through family, species, or genes. It also enables the users to share their photos to be verified by other users.
This application is available free on Android and iOS both. The best thing about this app is that no credit card information of the user is asked.
5. iNaturalist
Price: Free (No credit card details required)
iNaturalist is the result of the joint efforts of the California Academy of Science and the National Geographic Society. It is another citizen-based venture. Alongside the introduction of its plant identifier apps, it also provides the opportunity of sharing the observations of the natural world to gardeners, nature enthusiasts and plant lovers through its social network. The plant identification in this app is confirmed by the other users as well as by the image recognition technology. In case of a blurred or unclear picture, iNaturalist suggest possible options, which can then be used to verify. By sharing or confirming observations, users also create the research data, and as of June 2019, this app’s users contributed more than 25.6 million observations.
The website of this app also has a comprehensive list of FAQs and tutorials and the Help function on the mobile app. This app allows one to explore a thorough observation and species-based database, including plants and insects, animals, butterflies, etc. The app is straightforward to figure out and use.
On iOS and Android, the app is available free of cost. Although no credit card info is required, it still asks for either Google, Facebook or email for registration.
6. PlantSnap
Price: Free (No credit card details required)
The app’s goal is to have a “digital interface” between people and nature. This app contains an extensive database of over 5 lakh species of flowers, cacti, mushrooms, succulents and ornamental plants. It has over 150 million images available just at one click. The extraordinary thing about the PlantSnap app is that it is available in 30 different languages and uses artificial intelligence technology to identify plants, mushrooms, trees etc. PlantSnap also comes in the list of some popular plant identifier apps. This app offers great help to determine the plants and trees around you. The PlantSnap also has tutorials for people who are not very well versed with technology. It helps take the best photos of the plant and describes how to maximize the app’s usage.
The entire plant identification process of this plant identification app depends on the picture of a leaf or part of the plant. Therefore, it is always recommended to have correct photo placements that enable the app’s recognition ability to get accurate and correct responses. The software also lets the user crop the photo and identifies the plant with a second once it gets saved. Then, the app asks the user for confirmation of the correct identification. If the identification is valid, then the user may save it to the database. In case of incorrect identifications or if the plant is not available in the database, users can add it by saving it and contributing their portion to the app’s database. Apart from the plant identifier option, the app also provides information about the plants, their origin, genus, flowers, fruits and size at maturity.
On Android and iOS, this app can be accessed for free. However, its premium version is also available. Premium version can reduce ads which are elsewise annoying and can be as long as 30 seconds. The free basic version of this application allows only ten identifications per day, after which only its gallery can be explored.
7. PictureThis- Plants & Flower Identification
Price: Seven days free trial
Presented as a botanist in one’s pocket, PictureThis is a popular paid plant identification app. It has an advanced artificial intelligence technology that has identified over 27 million plant species through the photos submitted by its users. The app claims 99% accuracy, which gives it an added advantage over other plant identifier apps. The app also provides a social network for plant lovers and nature enthusiasts and is highly rated on Apple and Google. Apart from identifying house plants, this app also offers many tips on plant care, watering schedule, pest control etc. Though it is a paid app, it offers a 7-day free trial period, after which the user automatically enters into a one-year subscription. However, many comments by the users online suggest that users may face difficulty in cancelling the subscription. Though the app offers excellent service and information related to the domain, it is always recommended to decide beforehand if the subscription is worthy for you or not.
8. Garden Compass- SmartPlant
Price: 1 USD per correct identification
The Garden Compass is a good plant identification app with a team of experts to help identify what plant is this and the probable plant diseases. In addition, the users can place the photos of their plants in a “digital care calendar” where the app provides advice and recommendations to the user. Acquiring the app’s premium feature enables the users to access several additional features that would make using the app more exciting, informative and insightful.
The app gives reminders to the users about the needed tasks in the garden and allows free photo submission credits. It also provides a free credit every month. The app is also one among the well-rated apps on the app store. It is rated fine for both its accuracy and speed. Thus the user can move forward with this plant identification app as well.
9. Plantix
Price: Free
Plantix is a hybrid between a social media platform and a forum of gardeners, farmers, nature enthusiasts or plant lovers. It is a new plant identification app for the Android Operating System and is free of cost. The best thing about this new app is that it not only helps identifying house plants but also the various diseases and problems that may be associated with the plant. In addition, Plantix is an app with a global reach and allows people to connect from any part of the world and offer regional and even local plant information.
As the application is new and its work is in progress, one may spot bugs or may encounter some missing details from its database. However, its immensely positive reviews make it one of the excellent plant-identifying apps that should be considered for related information access.
10. What’s that Flower
Price: Free, Premium version is charged
What’s that Flower is among the most popular plant identifier apps for the Android operating system. It helps the users to identify the flowers that they cannot picture out or forget to capture on the camera. The app is known to collect information from the user, such as the flower’s colour, number of petals, and the environment it grew in. It also asks for any additional features or characteristics of the flower. Based on this detailed description, the app estimates or instead guesses the type of flower it could be. The app is beneficial in identifying 600 varieties of flowers. The basic version of the app is free of cost. The Premier version of the app is also available. On subscription to the Premier version of the app, ads are eliminated.
The listed 10 apps are some of the best plant identifier apps available on Android and iOS. The plant identification apps are a boon to nature lovers. It does not just help them connect with the people sharing the same interests around the world but also feeds them the information they are looking for and satisfies their quests. These apps can be great for the new gardeners as they are about identifying house plants, trees, and flowers and introducing the user to plant diseases and pest control methods. It can be good to follow a schedule for your garden plants and have a beautiful and lively garden. They also give a platform to research the new plant species that may be locally present around you. These apps are an excellent platform for interacting with like-minded people and sharing information, knowledge and past experiences. If you are a nature enthusiast, do try them now!
