Florida's Wildflowers
White

Bloodleaf, Juba's Bush - Iresine diffusa

Family - Amaranthaceae

Habitat - Coastal Hammocks

Description - Annual or weak perennial 2-3 feet average height, taller than broad. Leaves are opposite and variable in size and form.

Flower - Inflorescence of many tiny white flowers with a feathery appearance.

Stinging Nettle, Tread Softly - Cnidoscolus stimulosus

Family - Euphorbiaceae

Habitat - Scrub, Sand scrub, Coastal strand, dry sandy areas

Description - Perennial Herb, 3 feet in height, leaf simple, alternate, palmate with 3 to 5 deeply toothed lobes. Plant is covered with stinging hairs which will produce a painful rash lasting for about an hour.

Flower - Fragrant white, 1/2 inch across and tube-like. Blooms during the warm months.

Coastal Sea Rocket - Cakile lanceolata

Family - Brassicaceae

Habitat - Coastal Strand

Description - Native. Annual, Perennial Forb, Sub-shrub. Clump forming, often rank growing, succulent with variable leaf form.

Flower - White 1/2 inch, may be tinged with pale lavender.

Carolina Redroot - Lachnanthes caroliana

Family - Haemodoraceae

Habitat - Wet Pineland, Savannahs, Marshes

Description - FAC / Native. Perennial Herb 3 -4 feet high, taller than broad with flat, linear basal leaves. The only member of the bloodwort family native to North America.

Flower - Clustered white and greenish-yellow flowers on a branched tomentose inflorescences.

Water Cowbane - Oxypolis filiformis

Family - Apiaceae

Habitat - Marshes, wet to moist soils.

Description - OBL/Native. Perennial herb 2-3 feet high with hollow stems. Related to carrot, hemlock.

Flower - Umbel inflorescence of small white flowers.

Early Whitetop Fleabane - Erigeron vernus

Family - Asteraceae

Habitat - Wet Flatwoods, Wet Prairie, margins of lakes, ponds on sandy soils.

Description - Native perennial herb to 20 inches in height, basal leaves oblanceolate to spatulate, hirsute.

Flower - White corollas with 25-40 ray florets surrounding a greenish-yellow central disk.

Capeweed, Frogfruit - Phyla nodiflora

Family - Verbenaceae

Habitat - Wet Prairie, Wet Flatwoods, moist sandy soils. Common in South Florida lawns.

Description - Native. Prostrate creeping herb to 3 inches in height, sometimes forms dense mats. Oblanceolate leaves 1 1/4 - 2 3/8 inch long.

Flower - Compact heads of small white flowers on 6 inch stalks.

Rough Hedgehyssop - Gratiola hispida

Family - Scrophulariaceae

Habitat - Dry Flatwoods, Scrub

Description - Native perennial herb to about 1 foot high, leaves whorled and linear to slightly elliptic, thickened.

Flower - White, sessile, tubular, 2 lipped asymmetrical.

October Flower - Polygonella polygama

Family - Polygonaceae

Habitat - Scrub, Sandhill, Scrubby Flatwoods on moist to dry sandy soils.

Description - Native perennial shrub to 3 feet or less, leaves are alternate, spatulate to oblanceolate in shape with rounded tips. Stems are woody near the base of the plant

Flower - Small white to pink flowers produced in the summer and fall.

American Black Nightshade - Solanum americanum

Family - Solanaceae

Habitat - Ruderal

Description - Native annual or perennial, grows as a sub-shrub or Forb. Up to 3 feet tall with a spreading habit of growth. Leaves alternate, ovate with acute apices, leaf margins wavy, sometimes sparsely blunt toothed.

Flower - White corolla, 5 lobed with 5 stamens and yellow antlers which are exserted (extend past corolla), fruit is a small green berry turning black, may be shiny or dull.