Deep Learning based Recognition of the Indian Medicinal Plant Species

Since the dawn of time, medicinal plants, usually referred to as medicinal herbs, have been employed in traditional medicine. Numerous substances are produced by plants for purposes including defense against pests, diseases, fungus, and herbivorous animals. Antiquated Ayurvedic original copies, Egyptian papyrus, and Chinese books portray the utilization of spices. Medicinal plants and herbs have been used as medicines for over 4000 years. Plant parts such as flowers, leaves and roots are highly medicinal. However, it is a difficult process for agronomists and pharmaceutical companies to identify suitable medicinal plants, resulting in the loss of ancient knowledge of Ayurveda. This research work proposes an automated system to identify plants by using a CNN model. To identify rare new species, a thorough understanding of plants is required. Changes in leaf properties are useful for conducting comparative studies of plants. Therefore, this automated system will help to identify medicinal plants and helps agronomists identify the correct herbs.

I. Introduction

In our daily lives, we often encounter many kinds of plants and trees. A few plants are easy to identify, but of the plants are difficult to identify, especially when they are of medicinal importance. There are around 8000 [1] species of medicinal plants found in India. Medicinal plants are most commonly found in the tropics, but botanical studies in these areas take a long time. Since the dawn of time, medicinal plants, usually referred to as medicinal herbs, have been employed in traditional medicine [2]. Plants produce a variety of chemicals to protect themselves from insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals. Many highly effective species have not yet been discovered. Proper identification of these medicinal plants solves many diseases. The most difficult task is to identify many such plants. Some plants we see are unrecognizable except for their lifetime. Finding these plant species requires a great deal of knowledge and understanding [3]. Identifying these plants will not only help to cure many diseases, but also will help to restore the traditional knowledge of Ayurveda and ancient medicine. It will help the agronomists, ayurvedic medicine practices to identify the medicinal plants easily.