Pocket BotanistCuriosity first
We built Pocket Botanist for people who stop to look at plants. We want every species to be discoverable in seconds, no field guide required.
Built for plant people
About.
We kept finding ourselves wondering what we were looking at, on walks and in gardens, and wishing for a quick, honest answer in our pocket. So we built one.
Why we built it
Making the plant world open to everyone.
There's something magical about being able to look at a plant anywhere in the world and know exactly what it is. Its name, where it comes from, what it needs, and whether it is safe to have around your pets or children.
Until recently that knowledge sat in field guides or required specialist training. AI has changed that. We took the model and wrapped it in something anyone can pick up and use in seconds.
We're a small, independent team. We make Pocket Botanist on purpose, on our own schedule.
To know a plant is to know its story.Pocket Botanist
What we believe
Our values.
Privacy by design
Your photos are sent for identification and immediately dropped. Your collection is yours, and Premium can export the whole thing as a PDF, a spreadsheet, or map data.
Quietly capable
Identification in about a second. No sign-up to start. Tools that get out of the way and let you focus on the plant, not the app.
Built for everyone
From a first-time plant parent trying to keep a pothos alive to a botanist cataloging in the field, Pocket Botanist is meant to be useful at every level.
Under the hood
Built on good tools.
Google GeminiOur identification, diagnosis, and chat features run on Google's Gemini models, one of the fastest and most capable options available. Photos are resized and re-encoded right on your phone before they're sent, which strips out GPS location and other metadata.
GBIFGBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, is an international research infrastructure that aggregates biodiversity records from around the world. We use it to resolve scientific names to their currently accepted name, to draw the map of where a plant has been observed in the wild, and for some of the reference photos shown on a plant's page.
iNaturalistThe seasonal photographs on a plant's page come from iNaturalist, drawn from research-grade observations shared by its community of naturalists under open licenses, with a credit line for the photographer on every photo.
Open-MeteoWeather-aware tips and local pollen forecasts come from Open-Meteo, a free and open-source weather API.
FirebaseAuthentication, cloud sync, and backend integrity are handled by Google Firebase. We use analytics only to improve the app, with no ad networks and nothing sold to advertisers.
RevenueCatSubscriptions and Premium entitlement live in RevenueCat. We never see your payment details.
CrashlyticsCrash reporting via Crashlytics, with personal data scrubbed before any error leaves the device.
Expo and React NativeThe app is built with Expo and React Native for a native experience on iPhone and Android.
Get in touch
We'd love to hear from you.
Questions, feedback, feature ideas, or just want to share a cool plant you found? Our inbox is always open.
hello@pocketbotanist.app