An apparatus for identifying plant varieties from leaf or flower samples taken while in the field comprises a scanning device having a backlight so as to enable a detailed image of a sample to be recorded digitally, a computer for uploading the image for analysis, a computer program which allocates user prescribed parameters such as leaf venation, leaf shape, base position and shape and leaf curvature to the image, and utilizing the data produced by the computer program and applying an algorithm to it for matching the data against a database of plant varieties to determine the highest match probability.