Florida Wildflower Identification - Field Guide
Florida Wildflower Identification – Field Guide
Use this page to quickly identify Florida wildflowers for later research. Images of these southeastern US wildflowers are taken while hiking in the Florida counties. These include Alachua, Marion, and Putnam near Palatka, Ocala, Hawthorne, and Gainesville. But you may find these flowers throughout Florida, the Southeastern states, and beyond.
Note: See also Hiking Trails of Central Florida with dozens of locations and trail maps!
Corrections and additions: contact Bryan Lindenberger (bryan@bryanberg.net)
Blue and Purple Wildflowers
Pink and Red Wildflowers
Yellow and Orange Wildflowers
White Wildflowers
Blue and Purple Florida Wildflowers Found in North Central Florida
American Bluehearts – Buchnera americana, Florida wildflower grows with 5 heart-shaped petals, violet to blue
Blue Curls – Trichostema dichotomum, small but showy wildflower in the mint family, blue or purple petals, long curled stamen
Carolina Petunia – Ruellia caroliniensis, 5 blue or violet petals, white stamen, small with oblong leaves
Florida Paintbrush – Carphephorus corymbosus, purple flower clusters with long purple stamens
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
Aster cordifolius – blue wood aster, 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 and long stamina
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
Pink and Red Florida Wildflowers Found in North Central Florida
Coral Bean – Erythrina herbacea, tall stem, coral or pink bean shaped flowers, attracts hummingbirds
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
White Florida Wildflowers Found in North Central Florida
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 with lily pads
Elderberry – Sambucus nigra, tiny white flower clusters on bush with elongated leaves, produce elderberries, of course!
Frog Fruit – 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
Bull Nettle – Cnidoscolus stimulosus has white flowers with five petals and three-lobed leaves
Tarflower – Bejaria racemosa considered a shrub, wildflower has 7 white petals, long stamen, may be tinted pink, with long stems
Yellow and Orange Florida Wildflowers Found in North Central Florida
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
Orange Milkwort – Polygala lutea, small, low to ground, bright orange cylinder of clustered, tiny flower petals
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
Sensitive Pea – Chamaecrista nictitans, four or five yellow petals, long stamen, red center, fern-like leaf
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, a small, yellow, five petal flower with relatively long yellow stamen
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
Carolina Desert-Chicory aka False Dandelion – Pyrrhopappus hypochoeris is small yellow wildflower and a great pollinator
Fourpetal St. John’s-Wort – Hypericum tetrapetalum has four, squared petals and yellow stamen found in Florida woods
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
