Plant identification apps, also known as plant identifier apps, are primarily made for Android and iOS devices that help you identify a specific plant.

 If you’re not an avid gardener, you might use such an app to determine if something growing in your garden is a plant or a weed. Or, you might spot a shrub you like on a walk in your neighbourhood and want to know what it is so you can grow it yourself.

Its versatility is perhaps why plant identification apps are growing in popularity. If you believe you could benefit from one of them, you may find that the most challenging part is deciding which one. Read on to learn about some of the best plant identification apps so you can download one with much more confidence.

PlantSnap

Asking the gardening experts in your life what a specific plant is can take up a lot of time, but you can potentially speed up the process with PlantSnap. This tool can identify plants, trees, flowers, and even mushrooms. It has an extensive database of over 625,000 of them, as well!

Using this app is simple. All you need to do is install it on your phone, take a photo of the plant in question or use one from your photo gallery, then wait for it to identify it. Once it does, it can provide some helpful information about that plant.

Pl@ntNet

Pl@ntNet is a plant-identifying tool and free app that can identify plants through images you upload. You can download it as an app or even use it on a desktop computer if you have the photo saved.

Unlike some plant identifier apps that heavily focus on North America, this one is global. It offers several identification categories, such as world flora, useful plants, weeds, invasive plants, and more.

Best of all, you can upload a photo for free and have it identify your mystery plant by a variety of features like leaves, berries, shoots, and branches.

PictureThis

If you want to learn what a plant is and how to care for it, PictureThis might be the right plant identification app for you. This app can identify over 10,000 plants with a 98% chance of accuracy. It works with plants, flowers, and trees and can provide suggestions for their care from horticulture specialists.

PictureThis even allows you to learn more about your mystery plant in case you’ve identified it to grow more of it.

LeafSnap

LeafSnap is a free plant identification tool that you can also pay to use without ads. Whether you’ve discovered a unique-looking plant in your garden or you’re curious about a weed that’s popped up, LeafSnap could be how you identify it and create your plan of attack.

Unlike some other apps that may only be able to identify a small portion of all plant and tree species, LeafSnap has an incredible range of options. It can recognize 90% of all known trees and plant species.

Using AI, it identifies trees, fruits, flowers, and plants and can even tell you what a plant is based on fruit, bark, leaves, flowers, and more. It’s easy to download on iOS and Android.

iNaturalist

If you’re a passionate gardener who would like to know more than simply what plants you have, iNaturalist might be worth your consideration. While iNaturalist is an app, it’s also a social network of biologists, citizen scientists, and naturalists who map and share their observations of nature around them. 

iNaturalist was launched in 2008 as a joint initiative of the National Geographic Society and California Academy of Sciences and now has 1.8 million users. You can use the website or download the app and enjoy a more interactive plant identification process than most apps can offer.

All you need to do is record your observations, share them with fellow naturalists, and discuss your findings.

Google Lens

Google isn’t only a search engine; it’s a multi-national technology company known for its software, hardware, and cloud computing. So, it was probably only a matter of time before it made its way into the plant identification world.

Google Lens isn’t specifically for plant identification, but it has certainly proved itself as helpful for it. You can download it in the Google Play Store, take a photo of a plant, and bring up related results in Google. It’s a helpful tool for plants, animals, and much more.

Garden With Confidence!

Even though lawn care experts can be of assistance with any gardening and lawn care queries you may have, it’s clear to see that technology can be, as well. There are many helpful plant identifier apps you can download for free that tell you exactly what a plant is in just seconds. You can be an expert gardener in no time.