I use New England WIldflowers the most. They come in other flavors for different states.

Plant apps can be usefull, and they are getting better because of AI. I think the problem with them is that people become dependant on them and don't learn how to identify plants on their own. It's peculiar that the pride in being knowledgable about plant families, genera and species is being replaced by pride in people's particular apps. Im in some plant groups on another platform. When someone is seeking an ID, people post the screenshots of their plant app results. When they do that, they kill any further discussion concerning the identification process, and noone benefits , as far as the ID learning process goes. If you have google, you probably also have google lens which identifies plants. The most knowledgable botanists that I know recommend the i naturalist app Seek, which is programmed by the knowledge of the botanists that use that sight, and they may also have talented botanists there on hand to oversee the identification process. No plant app can compare to the personal pride and satisfaction of learning about plants and being knowledgable enough to ID plants yourself. Plant apps aren't programmed to explain to their users how they identify the plant, so the user is left in the dark and has not increased their plant knowledge at all. To digress a slight bit here, Im a Dune series geek and in the books humans allowed machines to do everything for them and they lost their abilty to think for themseves. I have been trying to learn how to ID plants on my own for several years and I, like some others here find dependance on plant apps distasteful. I'm not knocking anyone for wanting and using plant apps, I have google lens and seek myself. They sometimes are helpful if an ID request has gotten me stumped.

In the botanic garden I was guessing and was sometime correct or close to correct. An app would be nice when I’m out walking to id the wild stuff. i naturalist is one of the 2 recommended by wirecutter— it’ll do critters and sounds too so that should be fun.

That's great that you use the app and then read about specie safterwards. That gives you the information to help you ID that species yourself the next time you see it. I wish everyone who uses plant apps used your approach.

@Jay 6a Chicago

I use my apps to identify plants or birds (Merlin is great) to learn. That's how I've become knowledgeable. Plant ID apps are a tool for gaining knowledge, not a replacement for learning. IDing a plant in the wild helps you learn something about its habitat.

Having an app on my phone has really been wonderful and the reason I can identify a lot of birds and flowers. I don't have a good mushroom app and I find looking a mushroom up in my book from a picture when I get home is not half as effective as ID on the spot.

I would recommend that anyone who wants to learn to ID plants or birds get a good app.

Signed I totally agree with you. Apps are a great tool and I would be lost without my google lens. I also use it to identify insects and anything that is unknown. I

Like I mentioned to lisaam, it all depends on what you do after getting a correct result. All of the people that use apps for plant ID's and who then post their screenshots are gardening newbees who are caught up in excitement. Ive been in more advanced plant ID groups that didn't allow apps, but how could the administrstors know whether someone got their ID from an app? I just don't feel it's very useful when someone gets a correct ID and shows the screenshot. It stifles further discussion, unless someone like me comes in afterwards and fills in the details about the species and how to ID it. I use my app for confirmation when I believe I know the species. I just acreenshot the plant and apply google lens to the pic. I takes a good deal of knowledge to discern whether the app results are correct or not. I would say that google lens is correct about 50 percent of the time. Ive figured out tricks to get better results by manipulating the photos. I try to find something distinctive about the plant in the photo, and then I crop the photo to only show the distinctive section. Sometimes rotating the photo gets better results.

I use PlantNet. It's free and does a great job. This spring I couldn't figure out what was starting to grow in this one spot. It was a new area I was gardening in and I didn't remember planting anything there. Took a picture and it told me it was a foxglove...about 4 leaves were showing at the time. And yep, I had moved some perennial foxglove there and forgot. I've used it a few times in a friend's garden also. It's very handy especially after a winter and I've forgotten the names of half the plants.

They are getting better as more data is uploaded. Back in the early days of plant apps, it was a real crapshoot. I don't use them (cos the whole phone and photo thing, plus I am totally tech-illiterate) but I do know people who do say they are improving (but I think some have to be paid for).

i use google lens for those kind of indification

I too use Lens for plants.

You mentioned sounds and BirdNET by Cornell is very good at analyzing bird calls. They have one that also uses your bird photos and I would like to try that one.

Google lens can be a useful guide for common plants but it is also frequently wrong. It's especially bad if you only have leaves and can come up with some crazy suggestions.

That’s a valid observation. It’s reasonably good for quick guesses on common plants, but it can definitely miss the mark, especially when you’re dealing with just leaves or plants in their early growth stages. I’ve noticed it can sometimes suggest completely unrelated species. It’s most useful as an initial reference, but you really need to verify with other sources or wait for more distinctive features, like flowers or seed heads, to be certain. Also you should check plant identifier app https://botanapp.com which can easily help you to check whick kind of plant in front of your face.

This is a nice review of what's out there.

https://commonbynature.com/2025/05/15/the-best-plant-app-comprehensive/

But be aware that some of the highest rated ones are not free.