The Florida Wildflower Foundation nurtures the awareness, understanding and enjoyment of Florida native wildflowers through conservation, preservation and education.

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Disney Wilderness Preserve

March 7 Disney Wilderness Preserve field trip

Join the Florida Wildflower Foundation on March 1 for a field trip to Disney Wilderness Preserve. Volunteer and Outreach Specialist Hannah O’Malley will lead us on a swamp buggy tour through pine flatwoods, scrub, cypress swamps, and oak hammocks. You will learn the vital connection of Lake Russell to the Everglades. This preserve holds more than 1,000 plant and animal species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, crested caracara and a restored longleaf pine forest.

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Phaon crescent on frogfruit by Mary Keim

Know your native pollinators: Phaon crescent

The Phaon crescent butterfly is primarily attracted to frogfruit plants, utilizing them for nectar and as a larval host. Frogfruit is a small flowering groundcover that can be a great alternative to turf grass. Since frogfruits cannot withstand freezing temperatures, you will likely only find this butterfly in the southern regions of the United States. Phaon crescents can live in peninsular Florida throughout the year. These butterflies like moist open areas such as dunes, pastures, roadsides and clearings in dense forest thickets.    

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controlled burn

2 faces of fire — the good and the bad

As massive wildfires spread across Australia, even astronauts on the International Space Station can’t miss the inferno. So, fire is very bad, right? Not necessarily. Fire, large or small, is a natural, chemical process. It’s shaped this planet’s diverse ecosystems for eons, supporting unique vegetation and the wildlife it feeds. Many of Florida’s ecosystems thrive on managed fire.

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Smyrna Dunes

Feb. 15 Smyrna Dunes field trip

Join the Florida Wildflower Foundation on Feb. 15 for a field trip to Smyrna Dunes Park. Environmental scientist and instructor David Griffis will lead us in exploring five different ecosystems in the park. You can expect to see a variety of vegetation and wildlife, including shorebirds, seabirds and songbirds. The park offers dune, scrub and saltwater marsh habitats, bordered by the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean.

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Florida Wildflower Foundation

What’s in bloom

See how Florida’s fabulous wildflowers change seasonably across the state. You’ll find just what you need to be a wildflower tourist, whether you’re on the road or a virtual explorer.

Photos from the field

View stream on flickr

Bloom map
Wildflower trips
Wildflowers on Flickr
Flower Friday
Pine-pink, Bletia purpurea

Flower Friday: Pine-pink

Pine-pink (Bletia purpurea) is a state-threatened terrestrial orchid found in swamps, marshes, pinelands and pine rocklands in southern Florida. Its striking pink flowers bloom in winter, spring and early summer. Pine-pink flowers are a food-deceptive species. They do not contain nectar, but may attract bees and other insects with their conspicuous floral display. However, like many orchid species, Pine-pink is self-pollinating, and some of its flowers are cleistogamous, meaning the bud self-pollinates and never fully opens.

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Drive change – help pollinators thrive!

Pollinators are responsible for every third bite we eat and the reproduction of 85 percent of the world’s plants and trees. But they are in trouble. Development of Florida’s natural lands has robbed them of the wildflowers they need to survive.

But there is good news: You can help save pollinators by purchasing the State Wildflower license plate. Each time a State Wildflower plate is bought or renewed, the Florida Wildflower Foundation receives $15 to support native wildflower planting, education and research projects statewide. The plate is the only dependable source of revenue for Florida’s wildflowers and plants.

Do your part to support natural Florida’s future – get your tag today.

Helping millions of Monarchs by researching the effects of neonicotinoids on caterpillars.

Providing more than 3,000 wildflower plants annually for community park and school gardens.

Providing hands-on wildflower experiences to more than 1,500 students a year.

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