Orchid Species Identification

Botan Orchid Identifier – How It Works

Our orchid identifier is fully automated. To get the species ID results, you only need to: 

1. Open the Botan app. 
2. Open the scanner by tapping on the Photo icon. 
3. Take a photo of your plant or upload it from your gallery. 
4. Wait 1-5 seconds until it’s processed. 
5. Get the result: the plant’s name, environmental needs, and care requirements. 

Botan is more than just a recognition tool. Once the ID is complete, you can set up a custom care plan. If you agree, the plant will be added to your virtual garden. 

After that, you can set custom reminders and tasks, and get science-backed environmental tips. 

Defining Features for Orchid Identification

The Orchidaceae family includes 28,000 species. They all share some distinctive features, such as 3 sepals and 3 petals, with one petal modified into a lip (labellum), plus a central column. 

However, when it comes to identification, species-level differences come into play: 

• Lip shape. It can be pouch-like, as in Spicer’s Paphiopedilum, 3-lobed, as in the Bamboo Leaf orchid, or flat and broad, as in Lady of the Night. Some lips are also ruffled, fringed, or spurred. Certain species have movable parts and can mimic the appearance of female pollinators. 
• Pseudobulb shape. It’s a bulb-like above-ground stem common across different genera. For example, Bulbophyllums have small and round pseudobulbs. Noble and other dendrobiums have long, slender canes, while Kandyan Dancer and other Oncidiums have long and flat pseudobulbs. 
• Leaf shape and texture. Some species have very distinctive leaves: plain, flat, cylindrical, soft, fleshy, thick, elongated, etc. For example, Macodes petola has dark green flat leaves with golden veins. Coconut orchid, in turn, has thin, grass-like leaves. 

For a truly accurate ID, you should also examine root structure, column shape, wings and foot, the number and type of pollinia, and growth pattern. 

How to Capture an Image for Orchid Identification

You can identify an orchid much faster and more easily with Botan. However, accuracy depends on how well you capture the plant’s most distinctive parts. 

Our detector delivers 95+% accuracy with high-quality photos. Try to take one photo where the flowers, inflorescence, pseudobulb, and leaves are clearly visible to get an instant ID result and a custom care plan.