Arbor Day Tree Identification Guide: What Tree ... App Reviews

This is an easy app. to use with clear descriptions of tree leaves, types of trees, locations. What is missing are any images of the trees themselves. While it includes reference to Canada, the area map only shows the U.S.

Arbor Day Trees stop at the 49th, all that white above must be snow. The App is not much good in Canada.

This should not be a $5 app. Its tricky to use as some of the choices are unclear or difficult to decide. Pictorial cues are fine, but too few to be terribly helpful. The final ID should show all the descriptors selected. The GPS locator is a neat idea but should have a way to delete entries. Overall, its OK if you know a lot of plant terms & have an idea of what youre looking at but confusing or useless if youre new to the field. Youre better off with a book.

Good basic app for the beginner

The app took a long time to install. The tree list is good, but the tree ID section is very limited in its options and only gives one possible species rather than a list. This app is completely useless in the winter months as it is entirely based on leaves and completely ignores the bark. It does contain some good information, but there is room for improvement.

This is one of the best apps in terms of simplicity and ease of use, but there are some fundamental problems for tree experts and enthusiasts alike (point #2 below). #1 "The good" - It has an interesting and fairly effective dichotomous key with a shaded map to direct you in one of two streams then it switches to the more familiar and traditional key. All in all a good implementation. Second, it has a neat way to tag trees you have IDd to view later on a map, and if you choose you can contribute to arbor days "tree census" which is essentially a nationwide crowdsourced tree database. Finally, some basic tree anatomy nomenclature is provided to teach the novice and remind the seasoned alike. #2 "The Bad" - Where this app really fails is in searching the hundreds of trees in its data base. While it has botanical names, it does not search them. Imagine you type "Manitoba Maple" as opposed to Boxelder both common names for Acer negundo, if you are unaware of Boxelder as another name for "Manitoba Maple" (common name in Canada) then best of luck finding it because using the botanical name will not yield any results. You will have to scroll around to find it. While I cannot speak for everyone I can say it is problematic to use common names that vary by region and/or culture ie: if you are British and living in North America your "Lime Tree" is our "Basswood" etc etc. I would gladly come back and chnge my rating of this app should the developers adjust the search base. Anyone who owns a tree or shrub book as a reference guide knows those resources aptly provide indexes to look up plants in both botanical and common names. Esp. Botanical.

Worst. App. Ever. I am so bummed that I paid for this app! There are just drawings of tree leaves and freaking cones! It would be nice to see actual pictures of the tree! Being able to see the bark would be awesome! Seriously bad.

I have a red mulberry in my yard. I figured it out from the leaf snap app., (which sadly is only for the east coast). This app did not get me there. Wildly off base.

I have identified 5 trees in a row on this app that I already knew what they were and the app come up with some other tree name that wasnt even close to being correct. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. You are better off getting one of theirs free apps and just scrolling through the photos of different possibilities.

This could be so much more. It is way over priced. Disappointed!

Does it have your state? You cant tell from reading the app info. After spending $4.99, I found out that it does not cover Florida. Because this information is not disclosed, I rate this 0 stars. I wish I could have my money back.

This is a really cool app. Very informative with detailed graphics for ease of use. Its great when youre out in the woods or just strolling through the park. Check it out!

Having such a small inventory of possible trees (250ish) wouldnt be a problem if it stopped at the general family, or a group of possibilities. As it is, it delivers a very specific, often incorrect identification. You cant trust the results. Without major updates, this is a waste of an app.

Very limited number of species with limited information about the ones listed. Certainly not worth the price!

Not easy to use. Requires too much information to identify tree, for example what type of fruit or how many years

People complaining about the limited database need to understand that Arbor Day only includes a certain geographic area under their umbrella. So obviously its not for everyone depending on where you live, but its a great design with lots of useful info. And I love being able to track all the trees Ive identified on the map.

Worst app on my phone. Never names the tree properly. If it wasnt so expensive I would have immediately deleted it. Complete waste of money.

I was happy to support the Arbor Day Foundation, but after a few months of using this app, Im shopping for another. I wish that the questions it asked came with more photos, that you could skip questions that you couldnt answer (such as berry type out of season) and that the nifty map also logged the date of the identification. However, its still fun and lighter than a paper tree guide! I hope they continue to develop it.

This app would be great if the trees i was trying to identify had leaves. Im trying to identify trees that are dead with no leaves for fire wood. I dont think a simple picture of bark would be hard to add to this app while trying to identify different types of trees.

1. Only shows leaves. Should have pictures of entire tree and specific characteristics. 2. Saved "trees" only show leaf and Google map of location where saved. 3. Description of trees is pitifully limited to height and where its best to plant. Need more detailed descriptions (characteristics of branches, bark, fruit, habitat) Need more pictures. 4. Looking for a tree is awkward. Have to go through many steps to get to a picture of the leaf and a description that is too vague to identify the tree conclusively. 5. It has potential but needs to be revised extensively.