Every plant in your library gets a Certainty Index from 0 to 100 that tells you how confident we are in the identification — and exactly why.
How the score is built (100 points total)
| Component | Max pts | What it measures |
|---|
| AI Models | 65 | 4 leading vision AI models look at your photos independently. Each one that agrees with the consensus species contributes points, calibrated against how confident that specific model usually is. A model only earns full credit when it hits its own "I'm really sure" zone (high-confidence thresholds vary by model). Note: in our 89-plant audit these models got the species correct only about 1 in 4 tries when run alone — their value here is as a look-alike risk panel, not as the primary identifier. |
| Photo Coverage | 20 | AI scans your photos and marks which of the 4 plant parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers/seed/fruit) it can clearly see. A single sharp whole-plant shot can satisfy multiple parts at once — no manual tagging required. 3 of 4 parts seen = full points. You can mark a part N/A when it's truly unreachable (mature tree roots, off-season flowers) — the cap shifts so the missing part doesn't penalize. |
| Database Match | 15 | For 6 botanical databases (iNaturalist, GBIF, a worldwide citizen-science plant-ID source, USDA, Catalogue of Life, Wikipedia): sources with reference photos (iNaturalist, GBIF Media) get AI vision comparison — ≥85% visual similarity = match. Sources without photos (USDA, Catalogue of Life, Wikipedia, GBIF taxonomic) match when they confirm the species name. 4 of 6 matches → full points + VERIFIED badge. |
What the bands mean
80-100 Strong agreement across AI and databases.
50-79 Worth a second look. Add more photos or run Re-identify.
0-49 Treat as a guess. Consult a local expert before eating anything.
User overrides (shown as colored pill flags)
Amber pill — you marked one of the photo categories N/A. Score recalculated without that category.
Purple pill — your notes are influencing the ID. Two modes:
- Reconsider with notes: AI re-runs the ID with your notes as context. AI can still disagree.
- I'm telling you what this is: Your declared ID is accepted; pill shows "USER" instead of a number.
Every override is logged in the plant's Audit line on its detail page so the source of the score is never hidden.
Safety disclaimer
PlantCraft AI is an educational tool. Even a 100/100 Certainty Index is not a substitute for a local expert when you're deciding whether to eat something foraged. Always verify in person before consuming.