Tree identification app

[Ben.A.M]

Hi all, I’m not sure if this has been covered before but I’ve just downloaded a plant identification app and it’s literally changed my life! For me, the hardest part of making bows was finding and identifying bow worthy timber and while there’s a trove of information out there the problem was firstly knowing the name of a particular plant/tree to be able to specifically google it, now I can just take a photo and it tells me what it is, google the name with archery bow as the key words and you’re set, 99% of the time it brings me here to primitive archer which is perfect, also in the 2 weeks since I’ve downloaded it my stave stash has quadrupled with timbers like Cape honeysuckle, carrotwood and Chinese privet which is an invasive weed growing everywhere here and I would never have known the name of it or even considered it otherwise, maybe I’m just a Luddite and you’ve all been doing this for ages but for those of you that haven’t I can’t recommend it enough, it sucks for native plants here in Australia and the app I chose was a little expensive but for introduced plants, garden varieties and orchards it rocks, hope this helps!

[NewBowyer]

Can you give us a link to that app or at least its name? Sounds like a great tool!

[gumboman]

Might be this one.
https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/leafsnap-is-a-new-app-to-identify-trees.html

[loefflerchuck]

I use “picture this” app. You snap a photo and it gives you the tree/ plant in seconds. It is amazing and has been 100% correct so far

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

 I use the plant snap app but its not always right

[Ben.A.M]

Didn’t want to seem like I was advertising but yes, Picture This is the app I’m using, like I said, it’s amazing for well know American and European plants, household commons and garden varieties but if you’re in a country where less is known or there’s only slight variations between species it’ll usually get it wrong but for bow woods that have been tested, tried and true it’s amazing, I’ve been making bows for about 4 years and I’m lucky if I could find the rare piece of mulberry and a single piece of Osage every 6 months but now I just check every tree that looks like it has potential and half the time it’s something decent, whether I’m able to get some is another matter but at least I know what to keep an eye out for in future, makes driving a bit more dangerous but I think that’s a problem we all have

[NewBowyer]

It took Picture This about 1/2 second to ID my slippery elm tree today, and it was confirmed by Leaf Snap. I’ll keep using them & see how they do.

[wizardgoat]

I use “seek” and it’s been 100% so far as well.
Good for mushrooms and plants too, not just trees.

[Flyonline]

Hi Ben

thanks for posting that, I've been eying off a lot of trees lately without any idea of working them out other than "that's a maple etc." and 3 days worth of google images. Mind you, I still have a serious stash of locally grown Osage to get through first, and I've started a kick on local (aus) trees too.

I came across this website trying to work out a couple of wattles https://allcreativedesigns.com.au/. Geared more towards warmer forests, but still good enough for what I need - mind I did have to a bit of google imaging to get a definitive answer on one of the wattles as there is some moderate variations between locales.

Just worked out I have some Desert Ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) which I picked up off the side of the road courtesy of line trimming on my way home from todays Osage harvest. Then there's the wild plum, spotted gum, hickory wattle, other "unknown" whitewoods etc. that I still have to get back to with a saw.....

Need a holiday from my current status of 4wks holidays!!!

Steve

[Ben.A.M]

I’m glad it’s helped a few people cos it’s certainly made a difference to me!
And hi Steve! Where in Aus are you? It’s an absolute pain in the butt trying to ID trees over here, especially the wattles, there’s so many of them and depending on location can grow to look like completely different trees, I’ve had plenty of success with spotted gum but you have to find the darker oilier stuff for guaranteed success and my Wattle experiences have been too hit and miss so for confidence and experience sake I’ll chase down the introduced known bow woods before I start experimenting again with natives.

[Bowyer23]

I use PlantNet which has the wonderful ability to search for a specific species, and click one of the tabs which gives you a map of where other users have reported that species. Attached is visual of where osage is in my country

[Flyonline]

Ben

I'm in NE Vic, so good fishing and hunting locally (and reasonable sources of bow wood)! So far the hickory wattle appears to be a possible, I made up a kids bow with the first stave I had which blew me away with what it did - I tried to blow it up before giving it to my 5yo daughter and failed. Haven't had good luck with spotted gum boards so far, it's got one last chance in the form of an ASL before I ditch it but do have trees growing locally that I can harvest at least 1 log for staves.

Steve

[Ben.A.M]

I like the idea of that PlantNet, I wonder how specific it can get with locations? And Steve, I grew up on SE NSW, so not far from you and yeah, the fishing and hunting down there is epic and thankfully not that well known, I’ve never heard of hickory Wattle so I’ll definitely be checking that out, lucky you can get Osage though, I’m now in Murwillumbah so the nearest place is a 10-12hr round trip to Inverell, I’ve only ever had one small branch a mate brought back for me, made the most of it though I’m now not allowed back to 2 local timber suppliers from looking for spotted gum boards, if you can find any chocolate brown oily ones (which are few and far between) and back it with bamboo they’re some of the best ones I’ve made and won’t chrysal like the lighter coloured ones tend to, gotta keep the bamboo thin though, interested to see what you make from natives, you’ve got me inspired again!