Pictured above: Spotted water hemlock’s compound umbels covered in Black swallowtail caterpillars by Mary Keim
51 species native to Florida Source: Atlas of Florida Plants Note: Recognized taxa may differ between sources, depending on which taxonomic approach is followed.
Family characteristics
Apiaceae is a relatively large plant family with more than 3,800 species worldwide. Of the 29 genera found in Florida, most only include one or two species. However, Eryngium includes nine species, two of which are non-native. Most species in this family are annual to perennial herbs, that can vary in size from just a few inches tall to upwards of 6 feet.
Also known as umbellifers, this family is named for its most defining characteristic — the inflorescence. Their flowers are almost always clustered in terminalumbels. In species found in Florida, the individual flowers are typically very small and range in color from creamy white to blue. Their leaves are often dissected, ternate or pinnatifid.
Button rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium). Photo by Mary Keim
Mock bishopsweed (Ptilimnium capillaceum). Photo by Stacey Matrazzo
Spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata). Photo by Emily Bell
Corn snakeroot (Eryngium aquaticum) typically blooms summer through late fall. Its spiny blue to lavender flowers attract a plethora of pollinators, especially bees.
For much of the year, Fragrant eryngo (Eryngium aromaticum) goes unnoticed in Florida’s dry flatwoods, scrub and sandhills. However, when it blooms in summer through late fall, the petite white to light blue flowers can be found in abundance.
In late summer and early fall, Water cowbane (Tiedemannia filiformis) blooms in shallow freshwater wetlands across Florida. It is a larval host for the Eastern black swallowtail, and the flowers attract a variety of pollinators.
Button rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium ) is a peculiar perennial wildflower that occurs in flatwoods, sandhills, savannas and marshes throughout Florida. It blooms in late spring through fall.
Mock bishopsweed (Ptilimnium capillaceum) is a delicate little annual that is too often disregarded as a weed. But despite its small stature, it is both attractive and ecologically beneficial.
Baldwin’s eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii) has tiny flowers that are often overlooked. But it can form a large sprawling groundcover, providing a hazy, light blue understory to other wildflowers.
