What is the name of the beautiful flower on the roadside and what kind of strange plant is it that suddenly spreads in the vegetable patch? You don't have to lug around a thick book to identify plants in nature and in the garden - your smartphone is sufficient. There are now many free apps that recognize plants fairly reliably and provide you with further information directly. In this article, you will learn about some apps.
University project: Flora Incognita
The "Flora Incognita" app is a joint project of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena and the TU Ilmenau. Plants are determined by the application based on photos and criteria you enter; the hit rate is pretty high. This is due to the large database that contains over 4800 wild plant species from Central Europe. "Growing wild" means, however, that you will not be able to identify your ornamental and indoor plants with the app. Since mapping is also a goal of the app, the location and date of your observations are saved.
You will be guided by the app during operation. This way you will know exactly which parts of the plant to photograph for the best result. In addition to the flower, a photo of the leaf or the whole plant is sometimes required for this, you can also add the images from your media library. The result consists of the name and a profile of the recognized plant. If there is no clear result, you can look at the relevant profiles and select the right one - this way the app will recognize this plant better in the future. Regardless of your observations, you can also browse the application's dictionary.
There is also the "Flora Capture" app. If a plant cannot be identified, you can upload photos of it here. These are then examined by botanists who give you an assessment. Both applications are funded by the federal government and are therefore free of charge and free of advertising. When you register, you can save, export or share your observations. You can also skip the registration.
At Flora Incognita you can browse the lexicon ("All species"), view your previous observations or identify a new plant. The app guides you through it. From France: Pl @ ntNet
This app was developed by various French research institutes. To identify plants, photograph one or more parts of the plant - the more photos, the more precise the result. The hit rate of the application is also good for a photo. Practical: If you do not have a network when you are on the move or if you want to save your data volume, you can also save your photos in the app and identify the plants at home later.
In addition to the most likely result, you may see other plants that could also fit. You can compare your observation with their profiles, which contain further information in addition to the scientific and the German name. Pl @ ntNet also recognizes plants that are not actually native to Germany, but that also grow here. Over 4100 plants are stored in the database of the application, also predominantly wild and no ornamental plants. Here, too, you can leaf through the lexicon. The app is also free and ad-free..
The PlantNet app uses the camera on your smartphone directly. Use "Confirm" to indicate correct results. For the city: nature view
The "Naturblick" app is funded by the federal government and was developed by the Berlin Museum of Natural History. It is primarily intended for urban areas. There she can not only recognize trees, herbs and wildflowers by photo, but also assign bird calls. You can also use manually selectable criteria to identify other animals and insects in addition to plants. You can find your observations in your "field book". In addition, the app offers a lexicon as a determination aid. However, only about 600 species are stored in the database - it is made for the city. But Naturblick is also free of charge and free of advertising.
In the Naturblick app you can identify plants by photo or by selecting characteristics. You can find your observations in the "field book", there is also a lexicon ("Art-Portraits"). Community help: iNaturalist and AndyGreen
With the iNaturalist app you can identify plants and insects as well as birds based on their song. You can "make observations" by taking a photo, a sound recording, or selecting from your library. You can also see what species have already been discovered by other users at your location or in the vicinity. This app is also free and ad-free, it is a project of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. You can skip registration..
In iNaturalist, you can take a photo of your observations, for example. The app then uses the mobile phone camera directly and then shows you a hit list. At AndyGreen you can upload a picture of an unknown plant or a question. The community then takes over the plant identification or answers your question. The app also offers a filterable lexicon in which you can search for plants yourself. A learning mode is also available. AndyGreen is free, but you have to register to use it.
In the AndyGreen app you can read questions and answers from the community, add your own questions and photos to the determination via the plus and browse the lexicon. Lots of additional information: PictureThis
The "PictureThis" app is originally in English, as you can see from the German translation. After you have registered, you can search for a plant by photo and compare the results in the hit list with it. There is also a map with where the plants were found and a lot of additional information, such as care, origin of the name, possible uses or possible diseases of a plant. This app is also free, but contains a lot of advertising, especially for the paid premium version. Attention: The free trial version of this premium version will automatically be converted into a paid subscription after one week!
The PictureThis app provides you with a lot of additional information in the plant profile, for example on care.