Trust

How We Test and Review

How we check our identifier’s accuracy and review every guide we publish.

Last updated: November 1, 2026

We test the plant identifier on real photos, publish the results — including where it gets things wrong — and check our care and safety content against reliable botanical and veterinary sources. This page explains how.

How we test the identifier

1. Test set. A set of photos of species whose names are already known for certain — houseplants, garden flowers, trees, weeds, succulents and grasses.
2. Mixed photo quality. Whole plants, single leaves, flowers, bark and some deliberately difficult photos (blurry, shaded, seedlings).
3. What we record. Whether the correct name was the first match, whether it appeared in the top 3, the confidence shown, and whether a lookalike was named correctly.
4. How often. We repeat the test every 6 months and after any major change to the tool.

Latest results

Test date	Photos	Species	Correct first match	Correct in top 3
First round in progress	—	—	Posted here when complete	Posted here when complete

Where photo ID usually struggles: seedlings, grasses without seed heads, and cultivars of the same species. We will list our own weak spots here after each test round. For outside context, an independent 2023 study of five free plant ID apps found the correct name in the top five suggestions for 85% of photos, and as the first suggestion for 69% (Hart et al., People and Nature).

How we review content

• Who checks it: the PlantIDOnline Editorial Team. Every guide shows who wrote it and when it was last updated.
• Sources: pet toxicity notes are checked against established veterinary toxic-plant lists, and botanical names against recognised plant databases. Sources are linked on each page.
• Safety rules: we never say a wild plant is safe to eat, we do not identify mushrooms, and “unknown” toxicity is always shown as “keep away until checked”.
• No made-up numbers: we do not publish accuracy, species-count or user figures we have not measured ourselves.

Corrections

If you spot a mistake, tell us. We check every report and correct confirmed errors, noting the change and date on the page.