“Flower Friday” is a weekly profile of a different Florida native wildflower.
Grassleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia graminifolia) is a Florida endemic perennial wildflower. Its brick-red solitary blooms are distinctly different than most Florida Rudbeckia species. It typically flowers in summer and occurs naturally savannas and along moist roadsides.
Read moreAlso known as Seaside prairie-gentian or Catchfly prairie-gentian, Marsh gentian (Eustoma exaltatum) is an annual wildflower with showy purple to lavender (or sometimes white) flowers. It can bloom throughout the year and occurs naturally in salt marshes, dunes, and coastal flats.
Read moreLizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus) is a perennial aquatic wildflower. Its tiny, white blooms are borne in early spring through summer and attract a variety of pollinators. They are also eaten by foraging ducks such as wood ducks. Both the common and genus name refer to the flower’s resemblance to a lizard’s tail.
Read moreAlso known as Mountain azalea, Sweet pinxter azalea (Rhododendron canescens) is a deciduous flowering shrub. Its showy pinkish- to rose-colored flowers bloom in spring in pine flatwoods, mesic hammocks, bay swamps, and floodplain and slope forests. They attract a number of pollinators, including hummingbirds.
Read moreParrot pitcherplant (Sarracenia psittacina) is a carnivorous perennial plant. It typically flowers in April and May and occurs naturally in seepage slopes, wet prairies, depression marshes, dome swamps, and bogs. Parrot pitcherplant is a state listed threatened species. Its species name psittacina means “of or relating to parrots” and refers to the shape of the flower resembling the head of a parrot.
Read moreAmerican white waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) is a floating aquatic plant. Its large, solitary, fragrant white flowers bloom spring through fall in swamps, marshes, slow-moving streams and shallow lakes, ponds and ditches. The flowers are attractive to butterflies, but they are pollinated primarily by beetles. The plant is also known as Fragrant waterlily.
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