During my vacation, I was able to learn more about plants thanks to Picture This. An application that turns out to be very versatile and that contains more tools to help you on a daily basis.
At first glance, the concept of Picture This is not revolutionary. Google Lens already has an AI feature that lets you identify a plant through a simple photo. You are then sent to the Wikipedia page of the plant in question, which allows you to learn more. On the Picture This application, available on Android and iOS, it is possible to identify each plant you come across, but not only.
If you photograph the plants in your house, it is possible to add them to a tab called “My Garden”. Thanks to this, Picture This gives you a battery of advice to maintain your plant, with the amount of sun needed and the frequency of watering. Each plant then has a card on which you can take notes and even set watering or fertilizing reminders.
Reliable but not flawless AI
I downloaded Picture This during a trip to Andalusia, where we visited beautiful gardens at the Alhambra and the Alcazar Palace. I confess, botany is not one of my specialties and some plants were sometimes unknown to us. We therefore called on the AI of the mobile application which recognizes the plant in question quite easily, also giving its scientific name. As expected in 2022, the level of Artificial Intelligence is good enough not to fail.
Don’t go thinking that it can’t be taken for granted. If the photo contains unexpected elements, the application software may indeed be tricked. For example, the ficus placed in our apartment is decorated with a small mushroom garland and suffered some bite marks from our cat. Two elements that the application associates with an illness… All you have to do, however, is take another photo to correct this error.
In terms of daily care, the application is extremely comprehensive, giving a resistance temperature for each of the plants, but also a guide for pruning, harvesting and common pests.
Useless, but ubiquitous premium
Like YouTube, the application will ask you each time you open it to subscribe or not to the Premium version costing 32.99 euros per year. Be aware that you are offered a 7-day free trial, but it is negligible. Indeed, it is possible to see with garden experts to give you a diagnosis of your plants, but also to consult the maintenance step by step. Books about gardening and flowers are also available.
In its free version, PictureThis is largely self-sufficient with a wide range of features available. Among the additional elements, you will be able to identify which are the poisonous plants to protect your pets. In addition, each plant identified has a very complete file.
You are entitled to a FAQ about the species, advice from garden specialists, associated poems and even the symbolism to learn the language of plants. The height of coquetry, it is possible to share your photos with your loved ones on social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. In short, Picture This is one of many applications for plant identification, such as PlantNet. It will be as useful at home as it is outside.
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