How to Identify Plants

We'll be using a fantastic app called Seek to identify plants. You'll be amazed at how easy this is!

1. Install the free smartphone app Seek by iNaturalist.
   To be perfectly honest, Seek is so user-friendly that you could probably start using it right away without any instruction. But here are some resources with helpful tips to make you an expert user in no time:

• Read the user guide.

• Watch the video of Dr. B using Seek. [coming soon!]
  

2. Seek should have no trouble identifying the most common plants you encounter. For the purposes of this class, you will not need to ID plants that Seek cannot identify. (Unless you really want to, that is!)
   

3. Note : Poison ivy and poison oak are very common in upstate New York. The Seek app is quite good at identifying them (no touching required!). Do not work at a site with so much poison ivy that you cannot easily avoid it. The adage “leaves of three, let it be” is a good one -- but there are some common plants that also have leaves of 3 which are very safe, such as raspberries. Seek will help you. If in doubt, don’t touch! After reading how to identify poison ivy , try quizzing yourself to see how well you can recognize it!