Tools and tips to recognize plants on your walks in the countryside

We are in full spring and nature does not miss an opportunity to remind us: the rain alternates with sunny days and the vegetation shows off all its exuberance. In this period of the year, walking through the countryside among flowers of all shades and the bright green of the leaves, in addition to allowing us to enjoy a lot of beauty and aromas, can be a good opportunity to look for edible species and with medicinal properties. But how to recognize a plant with these characteristics?

Today we suggest some resources that can help you to identify the most common wild plants.

Apps to recognize plants

If you have a smartphone You now have a tool that will help you easily recognize wild plants. You can even choose between several options, because in recent years applications to recognize plants have multiplied.

In spite of the wide variety of plant identifiers Available for Android and iPhone, the operation of the apps is very similar:

Basically, these are plant finders by photo. Most of these apps They use the mobile camera so you can capture an image of the plant that you want to identify. Then, compare the specimen to images of plants in their database and voila! They return the results that are closest to the flower, leaf or fruit you have in front of you. Some have more complete databases, so they will allow a more accurate identification.

In general, all these apps are useful for those who approach this type of activity for the first time and they can be very practical when we do not have other resources to know the name of a plant.

If you enter “plant identifier” In the Google Play Store on your Android, or in the Apple Store if you have an iPhone, you will get many applications of this type. Choose the one with the best ratings or try them until you find the one you like best.

Between everyone, here are some examples of apps to recognize plants developed as a result of interesting projects:

Pl@ntNet. This is a research and citizen science project developed in 2009 and supported by Agropolis Fondation, a scientific cooperation project. The application is a tool created for promote the monitoring of plant biodiversity globally thanks to citizen collaboration.iNaturalist. The original idea was born in the context of a master’s project in 2008 that over time has become one of the most popular nature communities. It is supported by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. In addition to plant identification, allows animal identification.TreeApp. This app is an initiative of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Unlike the previous ones, it is specialized in the identification of common wild and feral trees of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.

When we go for a walk in natural environments, especially if we take a path through the mountains, Carrying a smartphone is always a good idea, also to orient yourself. or to make emergency calls.

However, we remember that most apps to identify plants work only when connection is available. In these cases, we can take photos of the specimen we want to identify and continue with the identification when we have Internet access.

books and guides

As low mobile network coverage is quite common Outside of urban centers, when you go for a walk in the countryside with the intention of observing the vegetation, you also have the option of taking a wild flora guide with you.

The pocket books They are ideal for excursions: they weigh little and are designed to facilitate consultation.

Normally, they follow some plant organization criteria to make identification easier. The Guide to Medicinal Plants, for example, classifies plants according to the color of their flowers.

In addition, this type of editions They usually offer images of the different details of the plantits scientific name, information about its habitat and other resources such as printed rulers to measure the size of the leaves and other parts of the plant.

In bookstores and online stores you will find different types of books and guides to recognize wild plants. How to choose one? Our advice is to use a pocket guide to species in the area in which you are to take with you on your observation outings.

Many times, these types of resources are also freely available in the information points of the Natural Parks.

To deepen the identification of plants when you are at home, instead, you can use botany books more detailed as the Herbarium of wild plants.

Of course, there are many more options and to avoid getting lost between titles and publishers you can start with a book on the wild flora of your region or with a manual on local medicinal or edible plants.

Magnifying glass, notebook and pencil

Using an app to identify the vegetation in your environment can be a quick option to discover the name of a plant. Nevertheless, flower and leaf identifications from photos are not always accurate. And of course, if you want to identify edible wild herbs, you don’t want to risk getting it wrong.

A magnifying glass can be very useful to clear up doubts if you are facing very similar species. With a lens you will be able to observe, for example, the details of the flower or easily detect other characteristics such as the small holes in the leaves of the hypericum.

Taking notes can also be very useful for finish identification calmly when you get home.

And why not directly cut a part of the plant? If we do not know the species in front of us, better to take a photo or take notes before cutting its stems, flowers and leaves. It could be a toxic species or worse, a protected plant. Informing yourself before costs nothing!

Herbaria online

Have you recognized a plant using an app or a field guide, but the identification does not quite convince you?

In these cases you can take advantage of online herbaria. They tend to be free resources made by universities or research groupsso they are an accurate tool that gives a lot of information to allow for more accurate recognition.

These are some virtual herbaria that you can consult for free online:

Tips for Identifying Wild Plants and Trees

Now you already know several tools that help you to know the names of the plants and recognize them during your outdoor activities.

Next, Here are some extra tips to identify wild species:

In addition to learning the names of wild edible plants, it is a good habit to learn to recognize the most common toxic plants. In this way, we will avoid confusing them.Spring is a perfect period to identify plants. Many species will have flowers, so you will have one more element for recognition.No need to go on excursions to remote places to observe nature and learn to recognize a wild plant. If you live in the city and go out to give a walk through your neighborhoodSurely there you will also find many species to observe and discover. Wild herbs are resilient beings, capable of adapting and growing in any place that offers minimal conditions for their development.

Using an app to discover the name of a wild plant can become an easy and fun activity. But most of all when the objective is to go out into the field in search of medicinal or edible species For our recipes it is important to take into account other resources to make a correct identification of the plant.