I recently discovered a cool little app for my phone called Leafsnap. It was developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution as a tree identification resource. Basically you can take pictures of a leaf with your phone and it will tell you what kind of tree it is and what the flowers, seeds, bark, etc. look like. Right now it is based on the trees in the Northeast, but eventually it will grow to include all the trees of the continental United States. I tried it out this weekend and it worked...sort of. It correctly identified two trees, but gave a list of results for the other. And you have to photograph a single leaf, against a white background, like a piece of white paper, which you might not always have with you. But what a great idea, right? And I'm sure there will be improvements coming. There is also a visual dictionary of leaves, so you can scroll through and identify leaves that way also.
The app is currently available for the iphone and the ipad, but the website says an android version is coming soon. Check it out!
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