At the moment, you can find an app for just about anything on the App Store. This is a good sign for people who have become parents of new plants or are interested in nature. Whether you’re taking care of your indoor plants or expanding your knowledge, these plant id apps for iPhone will be of great help to you!
These apps will provide tons of information about the rarest plants you can find. Without further ado, let’s take a look at them!
1. PictureThis – Plant ID: Editor’s Choice
PictureThis is the most accurate plant recognition app you can find on the web today. If people have ever asked “Is there a plant identification app?”the first app that comes to mind is PictureThis.
The app has a huge database where it identifies over a million plants every day through users all over the world. The AI-driven identification system in the app only needs an image of a plant to provide the information it needs. In addition, you can chat with nerds to get valuable information.
There are also plant guides to help you take care of your houseplants and ensure they are properly cared for. The note functionality in the app allows you to keep track of your plant’s growth and water or treatment reminders.
Overall, this is one of the best plant identification apps out there. However, it requires a permanent internet connection to work. There is no option to download the database to your phone for easier and faster access.
pros
- Extensive plant database
- houseplant guide
- Pay attention to the functionality for tracking plant growth
- Individual conversations with botanists are provided
Minuses
- Requires a permanent internet connection to access the database
Price: Free (In-app purchases start at $2.99)
2. PlantSnap: a thriving community
While it is good to have a large database for plant identification and processing, some problems may be more specific. In such situations, it is always best to talk to the other members in the large group to understand and correct the problems.
PlantSnap supports this large group through its huge user community. The community is distributed in 200 countries and has over 200 million users. This gives users a great opportunity to find solutions to their plant problems and connect with like-minded people who share their passion for nature.
The app’s database is also impressive, with over 600,000 species of plants, trees, and shrubs registered. This database continues to grow as each plant image you take will be stored for more information. This information is then transmitted to every user around the world.
However, the application’s client support is not great. Users complain about poor customer service.
pros
- Huge community to share your passion with
- Decent database size
- Users can add information that other users will have access to
Minuses
- Support is not the best
Price: Free (In-app purchases start at $0.99)
3. Seek by iNaturalist: very informative
If you want to instill in your children a passion for plants and nature, how you spread the word is very important. With Seek by iNaturalist, introducing people to plants just got easier!
This is not only a free plant identification app for iPhone, but also animal and mushroom identification. The app has a handy feature called “Tree of Life”that contains and provides information about plants in your area. All you have to do is use the Seek Camera and scan the environment. The app will then provide information about plants commonly found in your area.
It’s also great for teaching nature to kids as it makes gathering information and observations a game. The more information you collect, the more badges you earn.
Unfortunately, the app has some problems with the camera. You can’t zoom in on flowers, and the app can’t identify plants in low light conditions.
pros
- Search camera identifies plants based on your surroundings
- Great for teaching kids about plants
- Contains information about animals and mushrooms
Minuses
- The camera app is missing features
Price: Free
4. NatureID: Best for Parent Plants
It can be difficult for plant parents to deal with plant problems if you don’t understand plant biology well. Even brand new plant parents find it difficult to care for their plants for too many weeks.
If you are planning to become a plant parent or have new plants to take care of, you need to use NatureID. The application comes with a “Plant Doctor”feature that makes it very easy to detect the symptoms of plant diseases and treat them at an early stage. What’s more, the Plant Journal feature helps you keep track of everything about your houseplant.
You can also read various articles through the built-in encyclopedia for some interesting information. However, it does not have an extensive plant database.
pros
- Great for house plants
- Plant Doctor feature for early treatment of symptoms
- Plant journal keeps track of every detail
Minuses
- The database needs information on more plant species
Price: Free (In-app purchases start at $1.99)
5. LeafSnap: Impressive Accuracy
Most plant recognition apps claim to be insanely accurate, but when the time comes, they fall short. However, LeafSnap also strongly backs up its claims.
The application database contains information about 90% of the known plant species on the planet. If you think that’s impressive, there are features like a plant journal and care calendar. Both of these features come in handy when gardening and caring for plants in the backyard.
The recognition app software is also pretty fast, using the camera to identify the plants and have almost instantaneous correlation with the database. This makes the app’s camera intuitive. However, the app has a clunky user interface. It keeps pushing users to pay for a subscription with constant pop-ups.
pros
- Accurate recognition of plant species
- Plant journal and houseplant care calendar
- Fast recognition algorithm
Minuses
- Clumsy user interface
Price: Free (In-app purchases start at $4.99)
6. PlantNet: Location Based Identification
PlantNet is a great app if you want to learn more about local flora. The app uses information from around the world to provide accurate information about the plant life in your area.
So far, the application’s database is impressive. It contains accurate information on at least 20,000 plant species, with more being added every day. In addition, you can filter information about the plant using complex filters.
Finally, you can share the information you have collected about the species with other users through the app’s community. Thanks to this, you can view and re-identify plant species for better data collection.
However, the user experience is slightly weakened due to the inconvenient interface of the application. Difficult to navigate and rather uninteresting.
pros
- Decent amount of information in the database
- The filtering function works well
- You can share your findings with community members
Minuses
- Need a better user interface
Price: Free
7. Plant Identification++: Excellent performance
You won’t find too many plant identification apps that can provide all the features you get with Plant Identification++. The list of features is so extensive that it may seem overwhelming at first.
The application’s advanced machine learning algorithm can identify and provide all plant information. This does not depend on whether you took a photo of a plant through the application or selected a photo from your phone’s library. Plus, you also get access to a community of plant lovers and tips on caring for your houseplants.
Moreover, even if the plant shown in the picture is not in the database, the application can intelligently check its characteristics and provide you with a list of possible plant or genus names. In general, the algorithm used by the application is first-class.
Unfortunately, most of the app’s best features are hidden behind paywalls.
pros
- Huge list of features
- Access to a passionate community
- The algorithm can make accurate guesses about plants that are not in the database.
Minuses
- Most features are paid
Price: Free (In-app purchases start at $1.49)
8. iplant: easy to use
While iPlant doesn’t have all the basic features of the best plant recognition apps, it does provide a user-friendly interface that just about anyone can use. This is the only feature that propels it higher than the competition.
Whether you’re taking pictures with your camera or uploading them through your phone’s gallery, iPlant guarantees fast and efficient identification. The app’s artificial intelligence algorithm is quite fascinating and accurate. In addition, information about each new registered plant will be immediately stored in the application’s global database.
Finally, if you run a plant page or want to share your natural finds, you can do so right through the app. It may be associated with social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
However, the app lacks some features found in other plant recognition apps.
pros
- Fast and efficient plant identification
- Information about each new plant is available through the app’s global database.
- Can be used to share plant information through social media integration.
Minuses
- Lacks more complete features
Price: Free (In-app purchases start at $4.99)
FAQ
Yes. Most plant identification apps only take basic information for registration purposes. What’s more, they only get access to your phone’s Gallery and Camera apps for plant photos. Some plant identification apps require access to social media apps if you want to share your discovery with other people online. However, these are mostly template requirements.
PlantSnap is free to use. However, it does have some in-app purchases that offer additional, more complete features. You can also get lifetime premium access to the app at different prices depending on the features provided. This access costs between $9.99 and $39.99.
Signing…
If you love nature and the gifts of flora it has to offer, these Plant ID apps for iPhone will be a boon for you. You can share your passion for plants with other people and satisfy your curiosity at the same time. If I missed your favorite plant recognition apps, let me know in the comments below!