The nature around us is fascinating, full of an incredible variety of plants, flowers and trees.
But how many times have you come across a beautiful species and wondered: “What plant is that?”
Fortunately, technology has come to help us! With the apps to detect plant names, your smartphone turns into a real pocket botanist.
PlantNet
O PlantNet is one of the most popular and respected plant identification apps, widely used by enthusiasts and scientists alike.
Its strength lies in a citizen science project, where users contribute to enriching the database.
- How it works: Simply take a clear photo of the plant (leaf, flower, fruit or bark) and PlantNet will compare it to its vast database. It will offer several suggestions with probability percentages, helping you confirm the species.
- Free resources: Photo identification is completely free. You can also browse species galleries, explore regional botanical projects, and participate in the community by helping to validate other users’ identifications.
- Precision: Its accuracy is remarkable, especially for common and well-documented plants, thanks to the collaboration of millions of users and botanists.
Google Lens
While not an exclusive plant-based app, the Google Lens (built into the Google or Camera app on many Androids, and available separately for iOS) is an extremely powerful and free tool for identifying plants and more.
- How it works: Open Google Lens, point your camera at the plant, and tap the search icon. Within seconds, it will analyze the image and provide search results, including the name of the plant, links to additional information (like Wikipedia), and similar images.
- Free resources: Instant identification of plants, flowers, trees, as well as objects, texts and animals. As part of the Google ecosystem, it leverages the vast knowledge of the internet to deliver results.
- Advantages: It's extremely fast and doesn't require you to create an account. Ideal for quick, casual identification.
Search by iNaturalist
Developed by iNaturalist, a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, Seek is an app that turns nature identification into a fun and educational game.
- How it works: Use Seek’s camera to scan the plant. It uses artificial intelligence to identify the species in real time, providing detailed information and even challenges to find different types of living beings. You don’t need to take a photo to start identifying, which makes it very fast.
- Free resources: Unlimited plant (and animal, insect, and fungi) identification, species information, habitats, and occurrence maps. It also allows you to earn badges for your discoveries, encouraging exploration.
- Privacy: Unlike the main iNaturalist, Seek doesn't require registration and doesn't share your location or observation data, making it ideal for kids or those looking for more privacy.
PictureThis (Free Version with Limitations)
O PictureThis is one of the most recognized applications for its user-friendly interface and accuracy in identification.
Although it offers a premium version with many features, its free version is still quite useful.
- How it works: Take a photo of the plant. The app uses advanced AI to quickly identify the species, providing its name and a concise description.
- Free resources: The free version usually allows a limited number of daily or weekly identifications. It also provides basic access to information about the identified plants, including fun facts and sometimes general care tips.
- Note: Beware of pop-ups promoting the premium version, but know that you can continue using the free features as long as you respect the identification limit.
LeafSnap (Availability and Features Vary)
O LeafSnap was one of the pioneers in identifying plants through images of leaves.
Originally developed by universities (Smithsonian, Columbia, University of Maryland), today there are several versions and developers of the app with the same name.
- How it works: Depending on the version, the app requests photos of leaves, flowers, fruits and bark for more accurate identification. It compares the images with a database of species.
- Free resources: Free versions typically focus on basic photo identification and may provide descriptive information about the plant. The quality and depth of the database may vary between the different versions of “LeafSnap” available in the app stores.
- Suggestion: When downloading, check the reviews and developer description to ensure you are getting a reliable and working version.
Conclusion:
With the variety of apps to detect plant names available for free, exploring the plant kingdom has never been so accessible.
Whether you want to identify an exotic flower, discover the name of an imposing tree or simply better understand the species in your garden, tools like PlantNet, Google Lens, Search by iNaturalist and the free versions of PictureThis e LeafSnap are true guides.
They turn curiosity into knowledge, making gardening and appreciating nature even more rewarding.
Download your favorite and start discovering the green world around you!
