How PlantID identifies plants
PlantID uses a multimodal AI vision model to recognise plants the same way a trained botanist would — by studying leaf shape, venation, flower morphology, bark patterns, and growth habit. Here's the full pipeline, in plain English.
- 01
You upload a photo
A leaf, flower, fruit, bark or whole-plant photo — taken with any phone or camera. We accept JPG, PNG, WEBP and HEIC up to 10 MB.
- 02
Image is sent securely
Your image is encoded and sent over HTTPS to our AI service. We never store your photos on our servers.
- 03
AI analyses 400,000+ species
The model breaks the image down into thousands of visual features, then compares them against a vast database of botanical references.
- 04
You receive a full plant profile
Common name, scientific name, family, native range, light/water/soil requirements, toxicity to humans and pets, fun facts, and similar species — all in under 5 seconds.
Tips for the most accurate identification
- Photograph in natural daylight whenever possible.
- Fill the frame with the leaf or flower — close-ups beat wide shots.
- If the plant is flowering or fruiting, include those structures.
- Try multiple angles for tricky species.
- Sharp focus dramatically improves results.