Florida Native Trees

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Florida has both temperate & tropical climates where trees from each zone reach the limits of their range. In northern Florida many of the trees from "up north" grow. Cherry, Apple and other fruiting hardwoods common to the northern states flourish.

Central Florida is usually a bit more mild in terms of cold weather, a wider variety of veggies, fruiting and flowering plants can be grown.

In south central and south Florida where freezes and frosts are a still more rare occurrence and temperatures rise begins the subtropical growing zone. & at the southern tip of the state and into the Florida Keys the climate is truly tropical.

All these factors contribute to the high number of Florida's native plants. Over 3,100 plants including the 300 plus varieties of native trees, or about half of all the trees which grow in the continental U.S. occur as natives. Florida is ranked second in the nation for the number of indigenous plants, surpassed only by Hawaii.

In addition to the natives over 1000 exotic trees and other plants have gained a foothold in Florida's natural areas, particularly in the southern half of the state where many flourish in the sub-tropical climate .
See Exotic Plants to find out which ones pose a serious threat to Florida habitats & native species.

Landscaping with Native Florida Plants

When selecting a plant, whether tree, shrub or wildflower for your landscape needs, compare the area where it grows naturally with the planting site. Matching soil, moisture and the amount of light a plant receives in its natural habitat will let you reap the benefits.

Once established native plants require very little supplemental water and the need for fertilizer and pesticides can be practically eliminated, reducing pollution from stormwater & irrigation runoff.

 Whether it's a low maintenance flower garden, specimen tree or shrubbery it's tough to beat the Florida natives, not only are they well adapted to growing conditions they can also attract and provide food sources for native animals. Go to Florida Plants for Landscape.

A "tree" as described here is defined as a perennial woody stemmed plant, generally having a single main stem (trunk),13 feet tall or more at maturity.

The term "shrub" denotes a woody stemmed plant usually having multiple stems (trunks) that never or rarely exceed 13 feet in height. In some cases a plant that usually grows as a tree may assume a shrub-like habit of growth, the opposite is also true, some shrubs will occasionally attain a trees stature.

Click pictures for full sized images

Picture - Sand Pine tree with insets of flower and cones.

Name - Sand Pine, Scrub Pine

(Pinus clausa)

Family - Pinaceae

Habitat - Sandy ridges, open upland forests on deep, well drained, white sandy acidic soils.

Description - This Florida native may grow to 80 feet although it is more common at 25 to 30 feet. The open crown of a mature tree may be rounded or flattened, the bark is smooth and gray when young, becoming thick, scaly and reddish-brown with age. Cones are closed, 1 - 3 inches in length and unlike other pines may persist on the tree for years.

Two geographic varieties are generally recognized, Pinus clausa var. clausa (Ocala variety) normally occurs from northeastern to southern Florida and produces serotinous cones which can remain closed for years opening only after a fire.

P. clausa var. immuginata (Choctawhatchee variety) ranges from northwestern Florida into southeastern Alabama has non-serotinous cones.

Pictures - Slash Pine tree, branch tip, new growth bud, pollen cones.

Name - Slash Pine, Yellow Pine

(Pinus elliottii Engelm.)

Family - Pinaceae

Habitat - Moist to dry Flatwoods, Sandhill

Description - A large native tree 75 - 100 feet with a 3 to 4 ft. diameter trunk. Cones 3 - 6 inches in length, sometimes longer and to 3 inches in diameter. Needles 8 -12 inches long, 2 or 3 per fascicle. Crown is open, irregular, oval to pyramidal with ascending branches. Slash pine grows in well drained to moist sandy acidic soils and will tolerate moderate seasonal flooding once established. Scaly bark is grey with large orange-brown plates. Seeds from cones are a favorite of squirrels and wild turkey.

Pictures - Red Mangrove tree showing stilt roots, Red Mangrove seedling on tree showing developing root.

Name - Red Mangrove, Walking tree

(Rhizophora mangle L.)

Family - Rhizophoraceae

Habitat - Shorelines of bays and estuaries of coastal counties on the central and southern peninsula below the freeze line.

Description - Native tree. The red mangrove can grow to 70 feet or more in height, more often a multi-stemmed shrub or tree to around 20 feet.

Easily recognized by numerous reddish aerial roots called prop (or stilt) roots, which provide an important protective nursery habitat for many marine species. Leaves are opposite, elliptical, the margin is entire, smooth, 1 to 5 inches long shiny green above, paler green below. A unique trait of the Red Mangrove tree is the seeds which germinate in the summer and fall, producing a tap root while still attached to the tree. These drop into the water, drifting with wind and currents until finally taking root in the shallow waters at the shoreline.

Picture - Detail of White Mangrove leaves showing the pair of salt glands at leaf base.

Name - White Mangrove

(Laguncularia racemosa L.)

Family - Combretaceae

Habitat - Shorelines of estuaries and bays. White mangrove generally occurs on the upland side of mangrove forest in wet stagnant soils above the high water mark.

Description - Native. Distinguished from the other mangroves as having no aerial roots and the leaves which are elliptical, light yellowish-green with a pair of glands at the base of the leaf to help the tree excrete salt. Fruit is a greenish somewhat flattened drupe, wider toward the tip with numerous length-wise ridges.

Picture - Black Mangrove at waters edge showing pneumatophores.

Name - Black Mangrove

(Avicennia germinans L.)

Family - Verbenaceae

Habitat - Shorelines and tidal flats of bays and estuaries of coastal counties on the Florida peninsula.

Description - Native tree up to 50 feet in height often growing more inland than the other mangroves. It is easily identified by its above ground root projections, called pneumatophores which project upwards from lateral underground roots.

Leaves are opposite, elliptical to obovate, 2 to 5 inches long, dark green above, lighter green to yellowish silvery hairy below, the leaves often have salt crystals on their surfaces as the tree excretes excess salt through them.

Picture - Buttonwood with flower and developing fruit.

Name - Buttonwood, Buttonwood Mangrove

(Conocarpus erectus L.)

Family - Combretaceae

Habitat - Shorelines of estuaries on the peninsula south of Cape Canaveral, above the high tide line.

Description - Native multi-stemmed shrub or small tree usually 15 feet or less, alternately arranged elliptic to lanceolate leaves to 4 in. long are shiny dark green on top, lighter green with fine hairs on the bottom, leaf margins are entire. Very salt resistant and durable native tree.

Picture - Laurel Oak leaf, trunk/bark

Name - Laurel Oak, Diamond Oak

(Quercus laurifolia Michx.)

Family - Fagaceae

Habitat - Wet to dry sites, swamps, bottomlands, river floodplains, wet flatwoods.

Description - Native Florida tree to 60 plus feet in height, with a dense, symmetrical oval to rounded crown & a trunk up to 4 feet in diameter. Leaves are 2 -4 inches long, alternate, simple, smooth, entire or parted, varied form; elliptic, oblanceolate, obovate, some with a distinct diamond shape. Spring flowers are an inconspicuous brown catkin. An attractive fast growing tree widely used in both commercial & residential landscapes.

Picture - Sand Live Oak leaf and acorns

Name - Sand Live Oak

(Quercus geminata Small)

Family - Fagaceae

Habitat - Scrub, Coastal Hammocks & Dunes, Sandhills

Description - Growth habit may be as a large shrub to a medium sized tree, usually with contorted, twisted trunks. Open canopy, somewhat sparsely branched. Leaves are alternate, thick and leathery with rolled under, entire margins.

Pictures - Myrtle Oak leaf, Myrtle Oak acorns

Name - Myrtle Oak

(Quercus myrtifolia)

Family - Fagaceae

Habitat - Scrub, Coastal Hammocks & Dunes, on deep sandy soils

Description - Evergreen tree to near 40 feet in height more often as a shrub, commonly grows in tangled thickets with contorted trunks. Leaves are 1 - 2 inches long, alternately arranged, with a smooth leathery upper surface and yellowish to rust colored underside, margins of leaves are usually turned under.

Pictures - Turkey Oak trunk detail, Turkey Oak leaf detail.

Name - Turkey Oak

(Quercus laevis Walt.)

Family - Fagaceae (Beech Family)

Habitat - Dry Pinelands, Sandy ridges, Oak/Pine woodlands

Description - Native tree growing to a height of 20-50 feet, a relatively short lived tree its acorns are an important wildlife food source. Leaves have 3 to 7 deep lobes, resembling the shape of a turkeys foot for which this tree was given its common name.

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