Best Free Apps to Identify ANY Plant, Pest or Disease With a Cellphone
Have you ever seen a plant that you thought was beautiful and wanted one for your yard or garden? Been out in the woods camping and brushed up against a plant that might be poison ivy but you just weren't sure. Or maybe you have a plant that has pests or diseases on it and you don't know what to do. No worries, all you need is the camera on your cellphone.
There are apps that make identifying plants, pests and diseases a snap. In most cases, just take a picture of the plant, pest or disease and within seconds, algorithms will tell you everything you want to know.
Some apps are free, others cost a small fee. Most all are available for Android and IOS.
These are the Top Apps for Identifying Plants, Pests and Diseases
PlantNet Plant Identification (Free)
"PlantNet Plant Identification App is an application that allows you to identify plants simply by photographing them with your smartphone. Very useful when you don't have a botanist on hand! Pl@ntNet is also a great citizen science project: all the plants you photograph are collected and analyzed by scientists around the world to better understand the evolution of plant biodiversity and to better preserve it." -Play.Google.com
Blossom Plant Identification (3 Day Free Trial Available)
"There're are over 10,000 plant species in the Blossom Plant Identification database, from houseplants and garden flowers to lichens and mosses. You can also use Blossom to identify trees, shrubs, or succulents." -BlossomPlant.com
iNaturalist (Free)
"One of the world's most popular nature apps, iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a community of over 400,000 scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! What's more, by recording and sharing your observations, you'll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. iNaturalist is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society." -Play.Google.com
PlantSnap (Free)
"PlantSnap is the most high-tech, comprehensive and accurate plant identification app ever created! To identify a plant you simply need to simply snap a photo of the plant and the app will tell you what it is in a matter of seconds! PlantSnap can currently recognize 90% of all known species of plants and trees, which covers most of the species you will encounter in every country on Earth." -PlantSnap.com
LeafSnap (Free)
"When you discover a beautiful wildflower or unusual-looking shrub and you struggle to discern its genus. Instead of wasting time trawling through websites or asking your gardener friends, why not simply take a snap and have an app do the work for you? LeafSnap can currently recognize 90% of all known species of plants and trees, which covers most of the species you will encounter in every country on Earth."-Play.Google.com
Garden Compass (Free)
"What's the name of that plant or flower? Need help keeping your plants alive? Don't have a garden but have indoor plants? Garden Compass' intuitive app gives your plants a voice. Our unique and personalized care calendar seamlessly ties together your plants and our experts through a simple and understandable platform. Whatever your plant grumbles, we have got you covered: Experts at your fingertips? How about 50 of them. Don't know the name of a plant or flower? We love plant identification but don't stop there. Pest infestation or problem with your plants? The experts have got you covered." -Download.CNET/GardenCompass
Seek (Free)
"Drawing from millions of wildlife observations on iNaturalist, Seek shows you lists of commonly recorded insects, birds, plants, amphibians and more in your area. Scan the environment with the Seek Camera to identify organisms using the tree of life. Add different species to your observations and learn all about them in the process! The more observations you make, the more badges you’ll earn! This is a great app for families who want to spend more time exploring nature together, and for anyone who wants to learn more about the life all around them." -Play.Google.com
PictureThis (Free or Premium Subscription Available)
With PictureThis, "simply take or upload a photo of any plant, get instantaneous and accurate plant ID results with our revolutionary artificial intelligence technology." -PictureThisai.com
Garden Answers (Free or Premium Subscription Available)
"Garden Answers is the revolutionary plant identification app that instantly identifies over 20,000 plants and gives you accurate and detailed information about it. Have you ever wanted to easily identify a flower or plant? Now you can with my Garden Answers Plant Identification app. Just snap a picture, tap submit and instantly you will get the accurate identity of the plant and detailed information about it by garden and horticulture experts! Our advanced image recognition technology can instantly identify over 20,000 plants. And if you're concerned about a plant disease or insect infestation, you can use the keyword search feature within Garden Answers. It contains answers to over 200,000 commonly asked plant questions." -Apps.Apple.com
Flora Incognita (Free)
"Identify more than 4800 plant species with the Flora Incognita app and expand your plant knowledge. Save your observations and thus make an important contribution to science." -FloraIncognita.com