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Live oak GTM Reserve

Florida Plants and Trees

Florida’s botanical bounty means a million shades of green. Here are photos and descriptions to help you identify plants, shrubs, grasses, mosses, and trees in Florida.

The flora found along Florida’s trails is unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere in the United States, and that’s just the native species.

From columbine and trillium found in Appalachian-like valleys in the Florida Panhandle to tropical trees of Caribbean origin throughout South Florida, our botanical diversity is one of the best reasons to explore Florida’s trails.

Just a few inches of elevation change affects the habitats that surround you, as does the way that water flows across the landscape.

This visual guide is to introduce you to Florida’s diverse flora, including both common and unusual plants that you may encounter while you are enjoying our trails.

Trees Grasses Mosses Shrubs Vines Wildflowers


Contents

  • 1 Mangroves in Florida
    • 1.1 Black Mangrove
    • 1.2 Buttonwood
    • 1.3 Red Mangrove
    • 1.4 White mangrove
  • 2 Trees in Florida
    • 2.1 Bald Cypress
    • 2.2 Cabbage Palm
    • 2.3 Florida’s Toxic Trees
    • 2.4 Longleaf Pine
    • 2.5 Red Maple
    • 2.6 Sand Live Oak
    • 2.7 Strangler Fig
    • 2.8 Tulip Poplar
  • 3 Grasses in Florida
    • 3.1 Sand Cordgrass
  • 4 Mosses and Lichens
    • 4.1 Deer Moss
  • 5 Shrubs
    • 5.1 Florida Rosemary
  • 6 Vines
    • 6.1 Gray Nickerbean
  • 7 Wildflowers
    • 7.1 Green-fly Orchid
    • 7.2 Gulf Coast Lupine
    • 7.3 Moonflower
    • 7.4 Sea Myrtle
    • 7.5 Swamp Sunflower
    • 7.6 Wild Pennyroyal
  • 8 More Plants
    • 8.1 Dog Fennel
    • 8.2 Saltwort
  • 9 Explore More

Mangroves in Florida


Nowhere else in the continental United States can you find mangrove trees. Here’s how to tell the difference between the species you see in Florida.

black mangrove

Black Mangrove

Black mangroves have shiny leaves and dark round seed cases. Their most distinguishing feature is their pnuemataphores, finger-like protrusions around the tree like slender, miniature cypress knees.

buttonwood

Buttonwood

Buttonwood grows upland, on the land side of the mangrove community, tolerant of rooting in loose sand, rock, and dried marl.

Red mangrove

Red Mangrove

Red mangroves are the easiest of the mangroves to identify due to their “walking legs” root systems. Note the bean-pod-like “roots” at their bases: these are miniature mangroves spawning, fully formed plants waiting to float off with the next high tide.

White mangrove

White mangroves are the most tree-like of the mangrove family. They have oval light green leaves—the other mangroves have dark green, elliptical leaves.


Trees in Florida

Identifying trees in Florida, including cypresses, pines, oaks, and many other species found in Florida.

Bald cypress at Spring Hammock Preserve

Bald Cypress

Bald Cypress
Cabbage palm

Cabbage Palm

Cabbage Palm
toxic trees florida

Florida’s Toxic Trees

Florida’s Toxic Trees
longleaf pine

Longleaf Pine

Longleaf Pine
red maples in the floodplain forest

Red Maple

Red Maple
sand live oak leaves

Sand Live Oak

Sand Live Oak
Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk

Strangler Fig

Strangler Fig
Tulip Poplar

Tulip Poplar

Tulip Poplar


Grasses in Florida

Grasses that grow naturally in Florida habitats.

Sand cordgrass at Hopkins Prairie

Sand Cordgrass

Sand Cordgrass


Mosses and Lichens

Mosses and Lichens commonly seen in Florida habitats.

deer moss

Deer Moss

Deer Moss


Shrubs

Shrubs, including flowering, seen in Florida habitats.

Florida rosemary

Florida Rosemary

Florida Rosemary


Vines

Vines, including flowering, commonly seen in Florida habitats.

Gray nickerbean

Gray Nickerbean

Gray Nickerbean


Wildflowers

Wildflowers in Florida

Greenfly orchid

Green-fly Orchid

Green-fly Orchid
Gulf Coast lupine

Gulf Coast Lupine

Gulf Coast Lupine
Moonflower

Moonflower

Moonflower
Sea myrtle

Sea Myrtle

Sea Myrtle
swamp sunflowers

Swamp Sunflower

Swamp Sunflower
Wild Pennyroyal

Wild Pennyroyal

Wild Pennyroyal


More Plants

More Florida plants that don’t fit into the above categories.

dog fennel

Dog Fennel

Dog Fennel
Saltwort

Saltwort

Saltwort

Explore More

Discover locations where you can see particular plants and trees in Florida
See the biggest trees in Florida
Find pitcher plant bogs and prairies
See where you can explore a tropical forest
See where you can find mangroves
See the best spots for wildflowers

Florida Plant Atlas

Primary Sidebar

Identify Florida Species

  • Birds in Florida
  • Insects in Florida
  • Plants and Trees in Florida
  • Wildflowers in Florida
  • Wildlife in Florida
  • Florida’s Habitats

Our Newest Books

The Florida Trail Guide
Florida Trail Hikes 2nd edition cover
50 Hikes in Central Florida
Explorers Guide North Florida Panhandle
Book cover showing orange blaze and trail leading into stand of cabbage palms
Book cover of trail down swamp causeway under ancient pines
Five Star Trails Gainesville & Ocala
Five Star Trails Orlando

Florida Trail Apps

Farout GuidesFarout Guides Comprehensive logistics and offline maps for the
Florida National Scenic Trail (1,500 miles), the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail (108 miles), and the ECT Florida Connector (92 miles).

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FIND A TRAIL OR PARK

NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. Crestview. DeFuniak Springs. Destin. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Fort Walton Beach. Freeport. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Navarre Beach . Niceville. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Quincy. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka

NORTH FLORIDA
Alachua. Amelia Island. Baldwin. Branford. Bunnell. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Crescent City. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Gainesville. Green Cove Springs. High Springs. Jacksonville. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler.Lake City. Live Oak. Mayo. Macclenny. Micanopy. Olustee. Orange Park. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Perry. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Welaka. White Springs. Williston

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MULTI-REGION
Big Cypress Swamp. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka. Belleview. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Christmas. Chuluota. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. Daytona Beach. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Frostproof. Geneva. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Lakeland. Largo. Leesburg. Longwood. Melbourne. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Ocala. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Orlando. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Palm Bay. Ridge Manor. Sanford. Silver Springs. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. St. Petersburg. Tampa. Tarpon Springs. Titusville . Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor. Ding Darling NWR. Englewood. Estero. Fort Myers. Immokalee. Naples. Pine Island. Port Charlotte. Punta Gorda. Sanibel Island. Sarasota. Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Clewiston. Everglades City. Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. LaBelle. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Pahokee. Port Mayaca. Sebring. South Bay

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Northeast Everglades Natural Area. Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

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