• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Genuine Kentucky

Kentucky Pictures, Events, Restaurants

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
      • Advertise
    • Facts About Kentucky
      • Kentucky Geography 101: Where is Kentucky?!
      • Kentucky’s Lakes (Listed Alphabetically)
    • Famous Kentuckians
    • Kentucky Birds
      • Joys of Bird Watching
      • Bird Watching: Keeping a Journal
      • Backyard Birds Love Water!
      • Create a Backyard Bird Watching Haven
      • How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Yard
    • Kentucky Food
    • Kentucky History
    • Sitemap
  • Pictures
  • Restaurants
    • Best Catfish Restaurants
    • Best Pizza in Ky
    • Best BBQ in Ky
    • Bowling Green Restaurants
    • Gluten Free in Kentucky
    • Kentucky Lake Restaurants
    • Off the Beaten Path
    • Owensboro, Gluten Free
    • Owensboro Restaurants
    • Where to Eat Lunch in Owensboro
  • KY State Parks
    • Carter Caves State Resort Park
    • Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
    • Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park
    • Kenlake State Resort Park
    • Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
    • Lake Barkley State Resort Park
    • Rough River Dam State Resort Park
    • Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park
    • Pine Mountain State Resort Park
    • John James Audubon State Park
    • Lake Cumberland State Resort Park
    • More Kentucky State Parks
  • Things to Do
    • Grand Rivers Variety
    • Kentucky State Parks
    • Kentucky Lake
      • Kentucky Lake Pictures
    • Land Between the Lakes
      • Elk & Bison Prairie
      • Golden Pond Planetarium
      • The Homeplace
      • The Nature Station
      • LBL Pictures
        • Elk and Bison Prairie Pictures
    • Windy Hollow Campground and Speedway
    • Western Kentucky Botanical Garden
    • Smothers Park and Owensboro’s Riverfront
    • The Hitching Post
  • Events
You are here: Home / Archives for educational apps

Leafsnap App: Fellow Tree Lovers, You’ll Have Fun With This One

September 2, 2015 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Autumn Trees

One of my Favorite Places on Earth: Under a Tree

If you know anything about me, you know I love trees as much as some people love their family. They’re majestic, beautiful, awe-inspiring, life-giving, and a million other “gushy” adjectives.

Trees, not other people’s families.

As for a favorite tree, it’s whichever one is in front of me at the moment. When looking through the pictures I’ve taken with my camera or phone there are always scads of trees among my family, food, cats, and coffee. I simply love being in the company of trees.

When out with my husband, I’ll often see a tree I just HAVE to take a picture of. He’s gotten to where he’ll see an especially cool tree and just say, “I know,” as he looks for a place to pull over.

If trees do it for you as well OR you’d simply like to learn more about identifying trees – for yourself or with kids – I’d love to tell you about an app I’m having fun with: The Leafsnap app.

I came across the Leafsnap app a few weeks ago when I was searching for tree-related apps. I downloaded it (it’s free) and since I’ve enjoyed it, I thought I’d tell you about it.

You take a picture of a leaf, then the app will give you choices of “likely” matches.  You can take pictures of leaves, then pull the pictures (one at a time) from your photo album within the app or you can open the app and snap a picture directly.

You have to place the leaf (single leaves only) against a solid white background. I’ve used printer paper as a backdrop as well as the hood of a white van. Both worked great.

If you were at, say, a public park and didn’t have a white car or piece of printer paper handy, you could always try a bathroom sink.

The background has to be solid white. If there’s anything beside the white or even shadows falling over the white, the app will tell you to get your act together – okay, it doesn’t actually say that, but how cool would that be?

It simply says that it appears your background isn’t white.  No big deal, really, simply place your leaf against a solid white background.

For my tests, I picked leaves off of the ground and off of trees as well (they were trees in my own yard, so they didn’t object). I’d say about 8 times out of 10 the app showed the accurate tree in the choices. It did insist that a Sycamore leaf was a Maple leaf, but in all fairness, I can see how it’d detect similar shapes.

{Continued Beneath the Tree…}

Tree in the Elk and Bison Prairie

A Favorite Tree in the Elk & Bison Prairie (Land Between the Lakes)

If you’re using the app with kids (and I’m ALL for teaching young people about nature), they’ll look at it as a really fun adventure. Their “game” of collecting leaves and doing a little detective work will also be a learning experience.

When we teach kids about nature, it not only provides them with knowledge they’ll use in school as well as life, it teaches them to respect the environment. Especially if moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles point out to them how beautiful trees are and how necessary they are for the animals that depend upon them.

When you click on each individual suggestion the app makes, Leafsnap shows what a leaf from this particular tree looks like from front and back. It also shows pictures of the seed, flower, bark, and petiole (the stalk that attaches the leaf to the stem).  With this information, you can determine if you have the right tree or an impostor.

When you find yourself comparing tree leaves, flowers, barks, and other “clues,” you rack up a great amount of knowledge about each tree.

You can also simply use the app for browsing and comparing leaves. Granted, I’m a tree nerd, but I’ve had fun comparing the different varieties of Maple trees and even found a variety I didn’t even know existed.

Visit the Leafsnap website for more information or search for “Leafsnap” in iTunes.  You don’t have to be a tree nerd to have fun with this app.

Leaf Against a White Background

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: educational apps, tree identification, trees

Welcome to Genuine Kentucky!

Genuine Kentucky is a Kentucky Blog and online magazine celebrating the beautiful Bluegrass State. We shine the spotlight on Kentucky with pictures, restaurant reviews, news, tourism, Things to Do in Kentucky, and more.

We’re proud Kentuckians and the non-profit effort you see before you is a labor of love.

E-mail me anytime!

Kentucky Blog Updates

Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground

Playground at the Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground I recently told one of my daughters, "I have never been THIS … [Read More...] about Kentucky State Park Campgrounds Preparing to Open March 13

Christmas at the Homeplace (Land Between the Lakes)

As we often say on this Kentucky blog, the end of summer in NO WAY means the end of things to do and see in Kentucky. So grab … [Read More...] about 1850 Christmas at the Homeplace: Are You Ready to Meet Santa?!

Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park

Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park's Lodge (Facing Kentucky Lake) From the Kentucky State Parks: Current and former … [Read More...] about Kentucky State Parks Offering Discounts to Current Military, Retirees, Veterans

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site Salt Festival.

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site wants to take you back in time during the 37th annual Salt Festival next weekend (Oct. … [Read More...] about Salt Festival at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site October 18-20, 2019

Red Wolf at Woodlands Nature Station Woodlands Nature Station, in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, will … [Read More...] about Wolf Week at Woodlands Nature Station October 5 -11!

Civil War Days

If you're a Civil War buff, you'll want to be at Columbus-Belmont State Park during the weekend of October 11-13! The … [Read More...] about Civil War Days Weekend at Columbus-Belmont State Park (Oct. 11-13)

There's going to be a Pickin' Party at the Homeplace and you're invited! Philip Steinmetz, great nephew of Grandpa Jones, … [Read More...] about Homeplace Pickin’ Party at Land Between the Lakes 2019

Pulled BBQ Pork takeout from Moonlite

The Kentucky 100 (a new, twice-monthly publication that delivers 100-word stories and short videos to subscribers) asked … [Read More...] about Top 10 BBQ Restaurants in Kentucky (Picked by Kentucky 100)

Follow Genuine Kentucky on Twitter!

Tweets by @GenuineKentucky


"When reading about a Kentucky event, please be sure you check the date. Old events are not always deleted from the website. If you have an event you'd like to see on Genuine Kentucky or a 'Made in Kentucky' food or product you'd like reviewed, please contact us! " ~ Joi ("Joy")

Fraley Music Festival
Maddox
Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Trail Through the Forest

Kentucky News and Events

  • Kentucky State Park Campgrounds Preparing to Open March 13
  • 1850 Christmas at the Homeplace: Are You Ready to Meet Santa?!
  • Kentucky State Parks Offering Discounts to Current Military, Retirees, Veterans
  • Salt Festival at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site October 18-20, 2019
  • Wolf Week at Woodlands Nature Station October 5 -11!
  • Civil War Days Weekend at Columbus-Belmont State Park (Oct. 11-13)
  • Homeplace Pickin’ Party at Land Between the Lakes 2019
  • Top 10 BBQ Restaurants in Kentucky (Picked by Kentucky 100)

Kentucky State Parks

We have a special passion for Kentucky State Parks, so you'll find many articles and reviews centered around the beautiful state parks in Kentucky.

A personal goal is to visit, photograph, and enjoy each and every one of our state parks and eat at each of the state resort parks. Make no mistake about it, we're well on our way!

Bird Watching in Kentucky!

One of our greatest passions is birds and bird watching is an absolute favorite pastime. If you love our feathered friends and want to learn more about bird watching and attracting birds to your own backyard, be sure to check out our section dedicated entirely to Kentucky birds.

Kentucky Restaurants and Reviews

Kentucky Restaurant Reviews

Where are the best Kentucky restaurants?! Find out in our Kentucky Restaurant Reviews.

Also See: Best Fried Catfish in Kentucky
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Kentucky Blogs Database

If you have a Kentucky Blog - or you're simply a Kentuckian who blogs! - you might want to consider adding your blog to a new KY Blogs Database. It's run by "one of us," as in a fellow Kentuckian! Click the link to check it out. I've added Genuine Kentucky and will be adding my other blogs as well.

Kentucky Pictures

Kentucky Pictures
Check out the beautiful Pictures of Kentucky in our photo albums!

Advertising & Reviews

If you are interested in advertising on Genuine Kentucky, please contact us: e-mail Joi Sigers.

Also, if you have a resort, condo, golf course, restaurant, or even a cup of coffee (LOVE coffee!) you'd like for us to review, please contact us at joi@genuinekentucky.com.

Genuine Kentucky Disclaimer

We do not work for any Kentucky service or organization. We are simply proud to have been born and raised in the greatest state in the country and are thrilled to call it home. This site serves as our tribute to Kentucky and its warm and wonderful people. Our mission is to bring more travelers to Kentucky and keep more Kentuckians home! See our Privacy Policy.
Copyright Genuine Kentucky 2017