Identify plants like a botanist with new app

Wild Ark
WildArk Journal
Published in
2 min readDec 7, 2017

It’s like the ‘Shazam’ for plants

Ever wished you knew the name of the plants you pass on your Sunday stroll? Perhaps you’d like to impress your friends with the botanical names of all your favourite flowers in your local park? The Pl@ntNet app arms you with

The app is targeted at everyone from the general public to botanists, ecologists and researchers. It uses photo identification and requires you to isolate specific ‘organs’ of the plant in your image. For example the stem, the leaf, the fruit or the flower.

The app works using data collected by a social network of users that regularly collect samples, adding to an enormous database of plant visuals. It relies on the community to score, validate and filter the data to keep improving the quality of images and the accuracy of information, with the best visuals integrated into the tool.

If you can’t identify your plant with the app immediately, wait a day or two, and you will have your answer thanks to the Pl@ntNet community. It’s Citizen Science at its best and an opportunity for everyone to contribute to the collective knowledge of each plant species.

With millions of people observing and recording plant species on their phones, this app is bound to become a powerful tool for ecology in the future.

Download Pl@ntNet App here.

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Wild Ark
WildArk Journal

Wild Ark is movement for the wild. Our mission is to protect as much of the world’s biodiversity as we can and inspire people to reconnect with nature.