Naturetale app

From Naturetale Limited | £2.99 | 28.1 MB | Requires iOS 5.0 or later | Version 1.0.1 | View in the iTunes Store

You’re out in the field and notice a wildflower you don’t recognise, or maybe see a bird feeding on an unfamiliar berry. You’re not a wildflower enthusiast so you don’t have a relevant field guide, but you still want to know what you’re looking at. Which is where this new app comes in.

Naturetale asks a series of simple questions about habitat, colour and shape – shape may be omitted in months where not much is in bloom – to help you recognise an unknown British flower or berry. You’re then given a selection of photos that match your description.

Tap the image you think looks most like your flower to access a larger photo. If nothing matches, tap ‘No’ for the option to either browse all flowers of the same colour or take a photo and email it to the developers.

Once you’ve found your flower you’re presented with information about it, including its name, how common it is, its uses for humans and other wildlife, and any literary or cultural references. This is a very simple set-up and easy to use. With 200 species included in the database, it should allow you to identify much of what you see in the British countryside, increasing your knowledge of nature as you go. It’s not foolproof, however, and it does rely on users to some degree guessing what shape or colour the developers consider a flower to be.