> But at some point you just develop an instinct

https://www.mushroomthejournal.com/the-species-concept/

Yeah, this, exactly, observing the lifecycle in different habitats.

Those stinkhorns tho :o

I've never seen a stinkhorn that I didn't smell first.

Same score, and most of these plants aren't native here (W Oregon) and I wasn't familiar (in particular jack-in-the-pulpit got me 2/3 times, and then sarsaparilla appeared once).

I get asked to teach people plant ID sometimes, and people often seem mystified by it, until I explain the concept of "search image". It seems to give them a new way to approach it and seems helpful in most cases. Probably related to what you mean by "developing an instinct".

Got 47/55 with a few false positives (which is A-OK in my book).

Poison ivy has a few distinct characteristics that make it hard to miss if you know what to look for.

I think a lot of plant ID is pattern recognition. The more you do it, the better your "instinct" gets.

I know folks who always find arrowheads and fossils on hikes. Same skill, different patterns. This is a black box to me, I never see those things.

Same. I swear there's an aura of evil around it and that's how I identify it.