About this app
FLORA INCOGNITA - DISCOVER THE DIVERSITY OF NATURE
What's blooming? With the Flora Incognita app, this question is quickly answered. Take a picture of a plant, find out what it's called and learn everything you want to know with the help of a fact sheet. Highly precise algorithms based on artificial intelligence identify wild plants even when they are not (yet) in bloom!
In the Flora Incognita app you can easily view all your collected plant finds in a observation list. Maps show where you have found your plants. This way you can see how your knowledge about wild plants is growing.
But Flora Incognita is even more! The app is free of charge and without advertising, because it is part of a scientific research project that aims to improve nature conservation. The collected observations are used to answer scientific research questions that deal, for example, with the spread of invasive species or the effects of climate change on biotopes.
In regular stories, you will learn about news from the project, get insights into the scientific work or will be made curious about what is happening in nature right now.
WHY SHOULD YOU USE FLORA INCOGNITA?
- Identify wild plants simply by taking a photo with your smartphone
- Learn more about plant species with the help of extensive plant profiles
- Collect your findings in your observation list
- Become part of an innovative scientific community
- Share your findings on Twitter, Instagram & Co!
HOW GOOD IS FLORA INCOGNITA?
Species identification with Flora Incognita is based on Deep Learning algorithms that have an accuracy of well over 90%. It is important to take sharp and as close as possible pictures of plant parts such as flower, leaf, bark or fruit for a high identification accuracy.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROJECT?
Visit our website at www.floraincognita.com or follow us on social media. You can find us on X (@FloraIncognita2), Mastodon (@[email protected]), Instagram (@flora.incognita) and Facebook (@flora.incognita).
IS THE APP REALLY FREE OF CHARGE AND ADVERTISING?
Yes. You can use Flora Incognita anytime, as long as you want. It is free to use, with no ads, no premium version and no subscription. But maybe you will enjoy searching and identifying plants so much that it will become a new hobby. We have received this feedback many times!
WHO DEVELOPED FLORA INCOGNITA?
The Flora Incognita app is developed by scientists from the Technical University of Ilmenau and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena. Its development was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with funds from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety as well as the Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation and the Foundation for Nature Conservation Thuringia. The project was awarded as an official project of the "UN Decade of Biodiversity" and won the Thuringian Research Award in 2020.
Editor's Take
Flora Incognita sits at 4.8 stars across 60.3 thousand ratings on Google Play, and is still building an audience.
In our experience, ratings this high on a educational app usually mean the pacing respects your time, the difficulty curve doesn't stall, and the team keeps fixing issues people actually raise.
Technische Universität Ilmenau is the publisher behind this release; we'd suggest taking a quick look at their other titles on Google Play if the style clicks with you. The last visible update lands 2026-02-20, which is a small but useful signal that the team is still shipping fixes rather than treating the app as abandoned.
Who This App Is For
A quick read on the audiences this app tends to click with, based on its category, content rating and track record on Google Play.
- Family-friendly playersContent is rated Everyone, so it's a safe pick for shared devices.
- Self-directed learnersStructured lessons or drills that you can pick up between other study sessions.
- Quality-first downloadersConsistently high ratings make this a low-risk trial, even at full volume on a new device.
- Free-tier explorersFree on Google Play, so you can trial the loop before deciding if it earns space on your home screen.
At a Glance
thumb_up What stands out
- Consistent high ratingsA 4.8-star average across 60.3 thousand ratings is a strong quality signal.
- Free to try on Google PlayNo upfront cost, so you can confirm the loop clicks before committing time or in-app purchases.
- Actively maintainedLast visible update 2026-02-20, suggesting the team is still shipping fixes.
- Known publisherPublished by Technische Universität Ilmenau — worth checking their catalogue for similar titles.
info Things to know
- Smaller user baseNiche community means fewer community guides — great for discovery, slower for help with edge cases.
- In-app purchases may applyFree-to-play economics are common in this category — open the Google Play listing to confirm the monetization model before committing.
- Check device compatibilityOlder devices or restricted regions sometimes filter out specific Google Play listings. Confirm on the official page before setting aside time.
Key Features
- - Identify wild plants simply by taking a photo with your smartphone
- - Learn more about plant species with the help of extensive plant profiles
- - Collect your findings in your observation list
- - Become part of an innovative scientific community
- - Share your findings on Twitter, Instagram & Co!