Pl@ntNet
Users photograph leaves, flowers, fruit, bark, or a whole plant, choose a flora/project, receive image-based suggestions, consult taxonomic/factsheet information, and may share observations for community review.
- Route
- Explore
- Ages
- 9–14 with adult supervision
- Best for
- Photographing local plants and comparing identification suggestions
At a glance
- Developer
- Cirad-France
- Platforms
- iOS, Android
- Cost
- Free
- US App Store
Free US iOS and Google Play download; no IAP displayed in captured Apple metadata.
The short version
It turns a local walk into a repeatable photo → compare → identify → learn/contribute loop backed by a research consortium. Community sharing and imperfect visual identification make it a supervised citizen-science recommendation.
Creative agency: Medium — children choose subjects and evidence photographs, within a classifier-led task. Learning value: High — close observation, plant vocabulary, and uncertainty/revision are useful scientific habits. Age fit: Strongest for 9+ with an adult establishing outdoor and plant-safety rules. Parent view: Free does not establish no collection/sharing; inspect account, location, gallery, and public-observation controls. Staying power: Medium–High — neighborhood/garden variety supports repeat use. This is a , not a hands-on finding. Learning value: High — close observation, plant vocabulary, and uncertainty/revision are useful scientific habits. Age fit: Strongest for 9+ with an adult establishing outdoor and plant-safety rules. Parent view: Free does not establish no collection/sharing; inspect account, location, gallery, and public-observation controls. Staying power: Medium–High — neighborhood/garden variety supports repeat use. This is a , not a hands-on finding. Age fit: Strongest for 9+ with an adult establishing outdoor and plant-safety rules. Parent view: Free does not establish no collection/sharing; inspect account, location, gallery, and public-observation controls. Staying power: Medium–High — neighborhood/garden variety supports repeat use. This is a , not a hands-on finding.
What we found
Strengths
- Creative agency: Medium — children choose subjects and evidence photographs, within a classifier-led task. Learning value: High — close observation, plant vocabulary, and uncertainty/revision are useful scientific habits. Age fit: Strongest for 9+ with an adult establishing outdoor and plant-safety rules. Parent view: Free does not establish no collection/sharing; inspect account, location, gallery, and public-observation controls. Staying power: Medium–High — neighborhood/garden variety supports repeat use. This is a , not a hands-on finding.
- Learning value: High — close observation, plant vocabulary, and uncertainty/revision are useful scientific habits. Age fit: Strongest for 9+ with an adult establishing outdoor and plant-safety rules. Parent view: Free does not establish no collection/sharing; inspect account, location, gallery, and public-observation controls. Staying power: Medium–High — neighborhood/garden variety supports repeat use. This is a , not a hands-on finding.
- Staying power: Medium–High — neighborhood/garden variety supports repeat use. This is a , not a hands-on finding.
Watch-outs
- Parent view: Free does not establish no collection/sharing; inspect account, location, gallery, and public-observation controls. Staying power: Medium–High — neighborhood/garden variety supports repeat use. This is a , not a hands-on finding.
- Current child usability, identification accuracy by region, mobile-specific privacy behavior, and contribution visibility were not tested.
Before you download
- Age guidance
- 9–14; Apple labels it 9+ and the project asks contributors to photograph plants carefully rather than treat results as certainty.. Adult involvement: Medium; supervise outdoor collection, photo/location sharing, and interpretation—never use an ID to decide whether a plant is safe to eat or touch.
- Privacy
- Free does not establish no collection/sharing; inspect account, location, gallery, and public-observation controls.