About & instructions
What is Prairie?
Prairie helps gardeners in any U.S. state identify plants from a photo and instantly see whether they are native, beneficial, invasive, keystone for local wildlife, or endangered — tailored to your state.
How to use
- Sign in with Google. Your scans save to your account.
- Open Settings and choose your home state (defaults to Illinois).
- Tap Identify. Either snap a photo with your camera, or upload up to 12 photos at once from your phone.
- Review the result: native status, sun preference, companion plant, keystone species, and conservation status — all specific to your state.
- If the plant is non-native or a weed, tap Find native alternatives for state-appropriate swaps.
- Your scans live in Plants Identified. Search, filter, and delete from there.
Tips for better identifications
- Fill the frame with one leaf, flower, or fruit — not the whole bed.
- Shoot in daylight with even light; avoid blurry close-ups.
- Capture distinctive features (leaf shape, vein pattern, bloom).
- If the AI returns "Unknown," try another angle or a clearer feature.
Credits
Identifications are powered by Google's Gemini 3 Flash multimodal model and cross-referenced against state natural-resources data. Plant info is informational only — please consult local extension offices before management decisions, and never eat a plant identified only by an app.