What a good way to ID local plants? Is there a helpful website or app or do I have to just try googling descriptions till I figure it out. Thank you :)

That really depends on the area you’re in! But a few things to look up are “wildcrafting in (your area)” if your county doesn’t have any info, go for region
Eg: Wildcrafting in Los Angeles brings up too many restaurants and not enough resources, so Wildcrafting in Southern California is the way to go.

This is a good route because it should point you in the direction of edible plants, herbs and fungi. That’s what Wildcrafting is, collecting edible flora and fungi.

Look for field guides and plant journals dedicated to your area/region. And definitely go to the library. Most libraries, even with limited books, will have resources and books dedicated to the area.

Look up your USDA zone as well! That will clue you into the types of plants that do well in your climate (I get different types of sage, dessert willow and oaks, but nightshades don’t pop up as commonly, let alone belladonna)

Look up medicinal plants in your region as well as native plants of *insert region, state or local or neighboring biomes*
A lot of people forget what biomes are, so here’s a refresher:
Temperate deciduous forest
Coniferous forest
Woodland
Chaparral
Tundra
Grassland
Desert
Tropical savanna
Tropical forest

These biomes are a great resource for figuring out the types of plants that populate the areas around you.

Last couple places to look up information:
Gardening/landscaping websites run by local government gives you the stuff you see most commonly outside of nature; trees lining the sidewalks and suburbs, shrubs, bushes and flowers used around the city. You can also look up local trees and you might find a list of common ones found naturally and some that have become naturalized.

Go to tourist centers, or national park service Information websites and see what resources they have. To be honest a lot of stuff they have is about dangers, common mistakes and risks but it’s super helpful because it keeps you aware of local animals, common plants that are harmful or invasive and shows you how to identify them and common identification doppelgängers: blackberry vs poison ivy. Is that edible mushroom or destroying angel. Wild carrot or poison hemlock. And animals too: King snake (non venomous) or coral snakes (venomous) {the rhyme is red touching yellow will kill a fellow. Red touching black, you’re ok Jack/you’ll come back.

Laaaaaaast thing. You asked about apps. Apps are good to a point. They’re good for storing information for you to use to identify plants, giving Information etc, but take them with a grain of salt. They never have everything you come across. If it’s an app where you upload a photo and it pulls up the plant, don’t use that as the sole identifier. Some plants look almost identical but one bloom is pale yellow, and the other is ivory and your photo may not show that distinction. It may not show the fine hairs of stinging nettle and mistake it for mint and you grab a painful fistful. But they can help narrow your search!

Remember, if it’s something your planning on burning, distilling, or eating you need to be 100% sure that it’s safe. When in doubt, don’t.

Good luck, happy hunting, and don’t be surprised if there’s already a nature group around you can go on a nature walk with for in person identification!

🦇Cheers, Barberwitch