Florida Wildflower Identification - Field Guide

American Bluehearts – Buchnera americana, Florida wildflower grows with 5 heart-shaped petals, violet to blue with a few blossoms on each spindly stem

Tall Elephant’s Foot – Elephantopus elatus blooms blue-pink in autumn with tiny blossoms arranged to resemble an elephant’s footprint and is considered a “pushy plant.”

Common Blue Violet – Viola striata blooms in late winter and spring with five blue petals and dark landing stripes for pollinators.

Forked Blue Curls – Trichostema dichotomum, in the mint family, blue or purple speckled petals, long curled stamen in sandhills and flatwoods

Carolina Petunia – Ruellia caroliniensis, 5 blue or violet petals, white stamen, small with oblong leaves and white stamen

Florida Paintbrush – Carphephorus corymbosus, purple flower clusters with long purple stamens, attracts butterflies

Hairy Chaffhead – Carphephorus paniculatus grows in full sunlight and blooms purple in autumn from tall stems

Giant Ironweed – Vernonia gigantea, tall, spindly stemmed Florida wildflower with purple clusters of flowers

Meadow Beauty – Rhexia mariana, four veined purple or blue petals, grows with a long yellow stamen and narrow, grass-like leaves

Pickerelweed – Pontederi cordata, wildflower has long, purple oblong clusters in marsh and swamp

Sunshine Powderpuff – Mimosa strigillosa, pink to lavender wildflower, made of many tiny flowers to make pompom shape

Southern Blue Flag Iris, Swamp Iris, Virginia Iris – Iris virginica, marsh flower, 3 blue or purple petals, yellow or orange signal

Spurred Butterfly Pea – Centrosema virginianum, butterfly shape purple bloom on vine

Tievine Morning Glory – Ipomoea cordatotriloba, purple bloom on vine, star pattern

Water Hyacinth – Eichhornia crassipes, aquatic, broad leaf, purple flower with orange  or yellow spot near center

Blue Wood Aster – Aster cordifolius, small wildflower with elongated, oval blue petals and purple or yellow center

Common Blue Violet – Viola sororia this small flower has five blue petals and a white, veined center

Lyreleaf Sage – Salvia lyrata has a stem filled with horn shaped blue flowers at the top and long stamen

Blue Toadflax – Linaria canadensis, a small blue or purple wildflower with a long stem often growing with sheep’s sorrel in open sun

Thistle – Cirsium horridulum blooms brilliantly in spring and summer – low lying, but stems may grow as tall as you in spring

Carolina Horsenettle – Solanum carolinense blooms in summer five blue star-shaped petals and yellow stamen

Blue Jacket, Ohio Spiderwort – Tradescantia ohiensis, Commelinaceae blooms in spring with three blue petals and yellow stamen

Chapman’s Blazing Star – Liatris chapmanii blossoms blue to pink and purple in autumn in shaded, wet areas in clusters from a single tall  stem

Smallhead Blazing Star – Liatris microcephala is a Southern US purple or pink wildflower with a tall stem and long stamen in Florida

Sandhill Dayflower – Commelina-erecta-L blooms with two round blue petals in summer with a yellow center

Blue False Gilia – Allophyllum-gilioides blooms in summer with tiny flower clusters with five petals each on a long stem

Alligatorflag – Thalia geniculata, Marantaceae grows in wetlands with arrow shaped leaves, tall with blue/purple flowers

Coral Bean – Erythrina herbacea, tall stem, coral or pink bean shaped flowers, attracts hummingbirds

Scarlet Swamp Hibiscus – Hibiscus coccineus found in wetlands, large and red, here at Sweetwater Wetlands Park

Flaxleaf False Foxglove – Agalinis linifolia blooms with 5 pink petals and a white stamen in seasonally marshy Florida plains

Fetterbush – Lyonia lucida, bell-shaped flowers on evergreen shrub – a beauty to find in spring and summer

Marsh Pink – Sabatia grandiflora, small, five petal flower with yellow center and red outline

Red Sorrel, Sheep’s Sorrel – Rumex acetosella, tall red stem, many small flowers, open sun

Sweet Pea – Lathyrus odoratus, butterfly or popcorn shaped, pink, small

Tropical Sage – Salvia coccinea, tall stem, small flowers, red petals and long red stamen

Trumpet Creeper – Campsis radicans, long, horn shaped, five red petals on a vine creeping up large plants

Wild Azalea – Rhododendron canescens, blooms in spring with five pink or white petals and very long stamen on a large bush

Florida Tasselflower – Emilia fosbergii blooms in summer and fall with tiny red bulbous flowers

Buttonbush – Cephalanthus occidentalis, globular white flower with long stamen like spikes on bush

Innocence – Houstonia procumbens – a tiny, white wildflower with a yellow center and long stamen

White Water Lily – nymphaea odorata grows in water, a small white lily with yellow stamen in marshlands, aquatic

Elderberry – Sambucus nigra, tiny white flower clusters on bush with elongated leaves, produce elderberries, of course!

Frog Fruit or Capeweed- Phyla nodiflora, tiny, five petal flowers growing in a cluster around a purple center or seed

Lanceleaf Arrowhead -Sagittaria latifolia, aquatic, three white leaves, yellow center, long, pointed leaf

Neches River Rosemallow – Hibiscus dasycalyx, large white flower with overlapping petals and purple center, long stamen

Fineleaf Whiteop Sedge – Rhynchospora colorata, tiny white flower with green tips in grass

Summer Farewell – Dalea pinnata, has tiny, red buds that bloom into small white flower with long white stamen

Oakleaf Fleabane – Erigeron quercifolius has tall stems and many tiny white petals, may be tinted violet, yellow centers in daisy family

Branched Hedgehyssop – Gratiola Ramosa grows in clusters with four white petals and a yellow center

Hat Pins aka Flattened Pipewort – Eriocaulon compressum tiny white flowers, may have a yellow center on long, spindly stems

Atamasco Rain-Lily – Zephyranthes atamasca grows in moist soil blooming in spring with six white petals, yellow stamen

Hedge False Bindweed – Calystegia sepium, native to Florida, trumpet shaped white or pink marsh flower, yellow center

Streambank Spider Lily – Hymenocallis rotata wildflower rows along north central Florida river banks and marshes

Redroot Carolina – Redroot Lachnanthes caroliniana white flower cluster on a long stem in water ditches, poisonous to livestock

Spurge Nettle – Cnidolscolus Stimulosus has white flowers with five petals and three-lobed leaves that may be spotted

Bull Nettle – Cnidoscolus stimulosus is the same species as spurge nettle, reshown to show variety of leaves and flower shapes

Tarflower – Bejaria racemosa considered a shrub, wildflower has 7 white petals, long stamen, may be tinted pink, with long stems

Costalplain Dawnflower – Stylisma patens vine creeps sunny ground, blooming with a 5-point, white, star-shaped flower

Mock Bishops Weed – Ptilimnium capillaceum has a spindly stem with a cluster of sparse, tiny white flowers as it blooms

Frostweed Verbesina virginica blooms in summer and fall with small blossoms of 3 petals or more and black anthers

Groundsel – Baccharis halimifolia is a flowering bush, pointy white flowers and floating seeds on fluffy pappus

Arrow Leaf Sida – Sida rhombifolia blooms in summer with white or pail yellow petals and a yellow center, has jagged leaves

Spanish Needle – Bidens-alba blooms with five white petals in summer with a yellow-orange center in dry scrubby areas and woodlands

American Lotus – Nelumbo lutea, pale yellow, overlapping petals with bright yellow center in water

Bushy Seaside Oxeye – Borrichia frutescens, many yellow petals, yellow center, like a small daisy

Coastal Plain Honeycombhead – Balduina angustifolia, yellow flower with honeycomb center, long stem and spindly leaves

Carter’s Flax – Linum-carteri, tiny yellow flower with five overlapping petals, green star at center

Florida Tickseed – Coreopsis floridana, small, long stem, many yellow petals of different lengths, brown center

Blackeyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta blooms fall, many yellow petals with simpler oval shape than Florida Tickseed, and a brown center

Orange Milkwort – Polygala lutea, small, low to ground, bright orange cylinder of clustered, tiny flower petals

Yellow Milkwort – Polygata rugelli blooms in spring like the orange milkwort in the moist woodlands of Florida.

Partridge Pea – Chamaecrista fasciculata, yellow or orange petals with long, curled stamen and dark spots, pea pod

Chapman’s Sensitive Plant – Senna mexicana, five yellow petals, long pink or red stamen in clusters

Partridge Pea – Chamaecrista fasciculata has 5 yellow petals and about 10 long stamen growing from a fern-like plant

Wingleaf Primrose Willow – Ludwigia decurrens, five veined yellow petals may be heart shaped and a white center ovule

Yellow Carolina Jasmine -Gelsemium sempervirens, vine in trees, five yellow petals, yellow center, and long stamen

Carolina Rockrose – Helianthemum carolinianum, small, yellow, five petal flower with long yellow stamen, broad leaves

Florida Yellow Flax – Linum floridanum blooms in summer with 5 orange petals and long, narrow leaves on the stem

Grassleaf Yellow Star Grass – Hypoxis juncea grass whose flower has six yellow petals and yellow stamen

Southeastern Sneezeweed – Helenium pinnatifidum marsh flower, daisy family, yellow with many petals, large yellow center

Primrose Willow – Ludwigia peruviana has four yellow petals that may be heart -shaped and yellow stamen in marshy areas

Zigzag bladderwort – Utricularia subulata is a carnivorous plant with a tiny yellow pea-shaped flowers

Florida Yellow Bladderwort – Utricularia floridana is a yellow, aquatic, carnivorous flower growing in swamps and may bloom most of year except winter

Carolina Desert-Chicory aka False Dandelion – Pyrrhopappus hypochoeris is small yellow wildflower and a great pollinator

Four Petal St. John’s-Wort – Hypericum tetrapetalum has four, squared petals and yellow stamen blooming in summer

Pencilflower – Stylosanthes biflora is a small, orange Florida wildflower, low to the ground and pea shaped

Hairypod Cowpea – Vigna luteola has three yellow petals, or pea-shaped, and a long spindly stem a couple of feet tall

St Andrews Cross – Hypericum hypericoides small shrub with four, yellow petals in shape of a cross or an X

Narrowleaf Yellowtop – Flaveria linearis seen in fall in Florida, a long-stemmed yellow wildflower with narrow leaves

Chapmans Goldenrod – Solidago odara var chapmanii has a long stem filled with tiny yellow flower clusters in the fall

Yellow Flag, Water Flag – Iris pseudacorus grows in swampy areas and blooms in spring with long yellow petals

Coastalplain Hawkweed – Hieracium megacephalon has many pale yellow petals and grows on spindly stems to 3 feet high