Currently there are applications for absolutely everything, in fact, there is also a type of app to identify plants. These types of applications may seem really useful and, above all, harmless. But the reality is different and, in fact, they can even cause death, as has already been seen in various situations.
We are going to see the different reasons why using an application to identify a plant is a problem and can put your life at risk. First of all, the use of an app to identify plants is usually linked to the consumption of said plant. Yes, it may sound strange, but if only these were used apps to see the plants, it would not be necessary to write these lines.
Based on the fact that what you are looking for when using an app to identify plants is to eat them, we start with everything that is wrong with this practice. The applications with which to identify different plants can fail and this is precisely the main problem with this type of application since, if you ingest the plant, you can die.
Yes, there are applications that are extremely reliable and backed by scientific means. But there is always a margin of error that can put you in the most complicated situation of finding yourself between life and death. This is not something unknown and, in fact, studies have been done about the reliability of these applications.
Do not use an app to identify plants if you later want to eat said plant
Between the different studiesthose carried out by the University of Galway and the University of Leeds are among the most interesting. These studies tested the ability of six applications to identify different plants. The results leave a lot to be desired in terms of identification accuracy.
As has been seen, these applications have a percentage of precision when it comes to identifying plants that is between 80 and 88%. Logically, these percentages are not high enough to risk your life if an app tells you that a berry is edible.
In short, if you use these applications for the pleasure of identifying plants, the best thing you can do is not put them in your mouth because, in the worst case, it could end up being your last field trip and in the best of Neither do you know if any animal has relieved itself in that area.