Plant ID Apps for Home Gardeners

If not for the ability of my iPhone to help me identify flora, arthropods, and fungi, I might don the label of Luddite. For one, it seems almost daily, after misplacing my phone, I find myself cursing it; the possibility of losing my personal electronic device causes me to fret. While I'm ambivalent about smart technologies, when hiking in a meadow, strolling through a public garden, or shopping in a nursery, I can snap a photo and learn a new plant or be reminded of one I've forgotten. With the swipe of a screen, I can ascertain where in the world a flower originates and what its natural habitat is. What kind of mushroom might be growing on that log? Will this shrub thrive in partial shade? Should I worry about the species of caterpillar hanging from that tree?

Image recognition technologies that access massive datasets are not just a boon to gardeners. Apple's Visual Intelligence and Google Lens are two different, but effective systems integrated into mobile devices that are learning to identify just about any object that has been categorized: dog breeds, coins, monuments, hair styles, car parts, translations of text, ad infinitum, or nearly so. With the aid of artificial intelligence, these systems discern patterns and make comparisons in fractions of a second. Through deep machine learning, they grow increasingly sophisticated by the minute.

Google Lens has been around since about 2017. The user doesn't need to have an Android phone; any brand of phone will do. The tool is accessed in the Google browser, unlocked through that conspicuous multi-colored red, yellow, green, and blue "G". When the Google search bar pops up, look to the far right for an icon of a rectangle with a blue dot in the middle. That icon represents a camera, and selecting it opens the door to Google Lens. Essentially, the user is "googling" the image captured through the camera. Frame your subject matter clearly, focusing only on the plant in question. Target the shape of its leaves and be sure to include flowers, if present. Take the shot, then trust yourself to explore. And if you see the prompt "Add to search," don't hesitate to tap on it. You will likely learn new information about that plant.

Google Lens is accessible through the browser, so that both Android and iPhone users can use the ID service.

When it comes to plant identification, a range of possibilities will likely appear. What is offered as the first choice is not always the correct one. While a species might not be identified, in my experience, somewhere among the suggestions, a plant's genus or family is usually named.  Recently, I took a picture of the leaves of jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) to have it identified simply as impatiens.

Other, more traditional research, like the use of field guides, is sometimes necessary to get conclusive answers. I'm partial to books anyway, especially with their indices, and I like the way books arrange similar species together. One feature I appreciate with Google Lens is that even when using an iPhone, the Google image that has been captured is added to my phone's Photos Library, where I'm able to organize pictures into files.

Visual Intelligence is Apple's answer to Google Lens. This feature, in its most current version, is only available on the iPhone 16, a model equipped with its own camera button. Apple generally releases new phones every September and is promising that the iPhone 17 will include more integrated and enhanced features. But the system's precursor, called Visual Look Up, has been available on iPhones running iOS 15 or higher since 2021. I use Visual Look Up on my iPhone, but just for identification of flora. Once I take a photo of a plant I want to identify, I find the appropriate icon at the bottom middle of the screen. It's a lower-case "I" in a circle to the right of the "favorites" icon, shaped like a heart. Often, when Apple’s technology surmises relevant information about the image, it will indicate its awareness by turning a solid blue and accentuating the "I" with a couple of itty bitty stars. Transforming the icon into an image of a leaf means it knows the image is a photo of a plant. Tapping "Look up…" will provide possible answers.

When I'm in a place where there is poor internet service, I find that Visual Look Up to be the easiest identification system to use. I can take photos of plants on a walk, and then when I return to a location with an internet connection, I'm able to retrieve the photo and select the "I" icon to receive an image analysis.

In addition to Google and Apple systems, many proprietary apps are available on the market as plant identifiers. Most offer a free version and encourage consumers to purchase a subscription. Actual subscription prices vary, and there is usually a free period to test out the app. If you don't like the app or don’t think it's worth the investment, remember to cancel it!

Apps have been developed that identify not only plants, but fungi and insects. I downloaded versions of three different apps based on a host of internet reviews:  LeafSnap, Planto, and Picture Insect. Pop-up ads often attempted to divert me from my purpose, prodding me to buy. While outdoors, even in diffuse sunlight on a cloudy day with brightness levels at maximum, navigation through these ads proved too challenging for me. The pressure to purchase Planto and Picture Insect dissuaded me from using those apps. LeafSnap, however, proved to be helpful indoors. A neighbor had given me a vine cutting. In the dim light of my living room, I was able to identify it as an inch plant (Tradescantia zebrina). I have used the app while shopping for plants. LeafSnap consistently provided me with accurate and helpful information. It also encouraged me to download a companion app called Plant Saver, which catalogs plants and makes care recommendations about watering and plant diseases. If I had a larger collection of indoor plants, I'd be tempted to subscribe.

While image recognition technologies make plant identification quick and easy, they tend to make me lazy. Answers require little effort, and I fail to study the shape of a leaf or the alignment of leaves on a stem. If I don't consciously study a plant's morphology, then I find I become too reliant on technology, and I'm not learning. In the best of all possible worlds, I attempt to slow down and embrace both the Luddite and the technophile in myself.