Oregon Wildflowers

High Country Apps, LLC

About this app

OregonFlora at Oregon State University presents the Oregon Wildflowers plant identification app for smart phones and tablets. The app provides photographs, range maps, bloom period, and detailed descriptions for more than 1280 common wildflowers, shrubs, and vines that occur throughout Oregon and adjacent areas of California, Washington and Idaho. The selection and use of this curated data, developed by botanists, provides users with the most accurate information available that will in turn allow them to readily identify the plants they see statewide.

Designed for both budding wildflower enthusiasts and experienced botanists, Oregon Wildflowers will appeal to individuals who are interested in the names and natural history of the plants they encounter. It is an excellent educational tool for all ages to learn about botany, plant communities, and ecology using the plants found throughout Oregon. Each of the 1289 plants profiled has multiple photographs, distribution maps, and a detailed description. The majority of species included are native, and introduced species common to the region are also covered. Plant hunters can use the app to identify species in all ten of Oregon’s diverse ecoregions.

Users can browse through the stunning photographs of plants organized by common name, scientific name, or by family to select a plant and access the related information. However, most users will likely use the identification key that is the core of the app to identify an unknown plant of interest.

The key's interface allows users to select from twelve illustrated categories: geographic region, type of plant (e.g., wildflower, vine, shrub), flower features (flower color, number of petals, inflorescence shape, flowering month), leaf features (arrangement on plant, leaf type, leaf shape, leaf margin), plant size, and habitat. The key’s characters for each species are based on the descriptions prepared for the Flora of Oregon (published by OregonFlora at OSU).

Once downloaded, the app does not need an internet or network connection to run so you can use it no matter how remote your wanderings take you.

The OregonFlora mission is to increase awareness and knowledge of the plants of Oregon through the sharing of technically sound, accessible information for diverse audiences. Since 1994, OregonFlora has been working to develop a new state flora in both printed and digital formats. The first two of three volumes of the Flora of Oregon were published in 2015 and 2020, respectively. The website, (www.oregonflora.org), presents floristic information using interactive tools, maps, and images in formats useful to generalists as well as to scientists. Information about all of Oregon’s ~4,700 vascular plants can be found at the OregonFlora website.

A portion of the revenues received from the app goes to help develop the floristic knowledge base that lets us create quality tools to inform the public about Oregon's plants.

Ratings and reviews

I do not like the strong arm sales technique of "Buy before you try". But as this app came recommended, I went ahead with the purchase while on a hike with LTE service. The app is so big that it warned me not install it unless I was on wifi. So I did that 2 hours later when I returned home. But I immediately realized that the person who recommended it must have had it confused with another app because there is NO ability to use a photo of the plant you are looking at to narrow things down. And 2 hours later was too late for a refund. But in the end I looked through the information in the app and feel there is enough there to justify the $9.00. I tried identifying a couple of wildflowers I know and was not successful using the characteristics to get to them. So I don't think it will be too helpful for actually identifying the plants upfront, but I will look for another app to do that. But once identified some other way, this app will provide a lot of information with the descriptions, range, etc.

As someone who does botany surveys for work I find this app super helpful. I'm very weary of apps that use photos as the same species of plant can differ in appearance based on location and climate. Using botanical characteristics to narrow down your search makes way more sense. It's worth every penny! I also recommend using the WA app concurrently as it has some species this one doesnt and vice versa.

Excellent, off-line, easy to navigate. I do wish you could set defaults, I was in Steens for a month but had to reset the limits every time I opened the app to search. Favorites feature is very useful. Highly recommended

What's new

Updated for API 34 and Android 14.
Added popups for glossary terms in technical plant descriptions.
Added ability to put scientific name in copy buffer/clipboard to paste into other apps.