Florida's Nature/Home

Where to look...

Browse the list of plants for an alphabetical listing by common name of all the plants included on this site.

The flowering plants section consists of Florida wild plants sorted by flower color.

Native Trees & Shrubs Vines & Exotic plant sections are categorized as indicated by title.

Landscape plants features commonly used landscape plants, both native & exotic.

Native Plants

Plants that existed in Florida prior to the first European contact, occurring as part of the natural landscape & apart from human influence are considered native.

Exotic Plants

Many exotic plants found in the wild are "naturalized", a naturalized plant is any imported plant that persists in the wild on its own without being cultivated. Some are not too bad while others pose major problems for Florida's ecosystems.

Introduced exotic plants account for an additional 1,300 + species that can be found in Florida's forests. There are two classifications for exotic plants in Florida, as set forth by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council.

Naturalized Exotic - are non-native plants persisting in nature apart from cultivation, without displacing native species or causing damage to Florida's habitats.

Invasive Exotic - There are 67 introduced plants in Florida that are considered invasive. These displace our native plants, damaging Florida habitats.

Florida Habitats

Seven major ecosystems are recognized in Florida and as many as 82 distinct natural plant and animal communities.

With almost 8,000 lakes, 1,700 rivers & 1,197 miles of coastline, water or the lack of it has a major influence on the type of habitat found in Florida.

In combination with a relatively flat landscape, slight changes in elevation can cause pretty extreme changes in the type of habitat, in some places the desert-like conditions of scrub habitat exist on the boundaries of large marshes.

Tree, Shrub or Herb?

A tree is generally described as a single stemmed ( trunk ) woody plant with a distinct canopy or crown height of 13 - 16 feet.

A shrub is also woody stemmed, usually with multiple stems or trunks which rarely or never exceed 13 - 15 feet.

Herbaceous plants are those with little or no woody growth & may be annual, bi-annual or perennial.

Here's to quiet rivers,

&

glistening marshes...

Florida offers a wide variety of outdoor activities from coast to coast. Surfing, diving, fishing, birding and boating to hiking or camping, opportunities to explore Florida's Nature abound!

With our great diversity of natural resources it's important that we preserve as much as possible, not only for ourselves but for future generations of residents and visitors alike.

Florida's environment faces daily challenges ranging from loss of natural habitat through over-development, altered natural water flows and invasive exotic species that threaten the very things that make Florida a great place to live and visit.

If you are interested in ongoing conservation / preservation efforts in Florida, I recommend that you sign up for the Florida Audubon Society e-mail newsletter. It's free, gives updates on current legislation and provides a means to contact lawmakers to voice your opinion on environmental issues.

Sincerely,
Ed

Eating any part of any plant found growing in the wild, even those recognized as "edible" is not recommended. Some plants or parts of plants are extremely poisonous and potentially fatal even in small amounts. Many otherwise benign plants may concentrate pollutants or toxins from the environment into their roots, stems, leaves & fruit.

Simply because a plant or the fruit of a plant is said to be edible does not mean that it is always safe to consume. Safely eating wild plants found requires expert identification & sometimes a specific method of preparation.

This type of knowledge is best passed on personally from an experienced person while in the field. For these reasons this website does not promote any wild plant or fruit as "edible".

Copyright 2008 - 2009 Ed Weislo / Privacy Policy & Terms of Use / Site Map