Plant Profiles

Toothpetal false reinorchid
Toothpetal false reinorchid (Habenaria floribunda) is one of Florida’s most common terrestrial orchids. It is found in swamps and hardwood forests throughout most of peninsular Florida and typically blooms fall through winter. The semi-showy flowers are aromatic, emitting either a sweet fragrance or an unpleasant odor, depending on who you ask.
Read More Toothpetal false reinorchid
Tread-softly
Tread-softly (Cnidoscolus stimulosus) is a low-growing prickly wildflower. It’s easy to see how it gets its common name, and its scientific name is just as telling.
Read More Tread-softly
Tropical sage
Tropical sage (Salvia coccinea) is a versatile perennial wildflower that no pollinator can resist, but it is particularly attractive to bees, large butterflies and hummingbirds.
Read More Tropical sage
Trumpet creeper
Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) is a high-climbing woody vine so named because its showy flowers are trumpet-shaped. They bloom year-round and are very attractive to hummingbirds.
Read More Trumpet creeper
Vanillaleaf
Meet Vanillaleaf, the odiferous Carphephorus! Perhaps the most telling of common names, Vanillaleaf refers to the vanilla-like scent that the plant’s wilting leaves emit when crushed.
Read More Vanillaleaf
Violet butterwort
Violet butterwort (Pinguicula ionantha) is a rare insectivorous wildflower. That’s right — it eats insects! Hairs on its leaf surface secrete a sticky substance in which insects become trapped.
Read More Violet butterwort
Virginia pepperweed
A member of the mustard family, Virginia pepperweed (Lepidium virginicum) is edible to humans. It is also a host plant for the checkered white and Great Southern white butterflies. Bees love it, too!
Read More Virginia pepperweed
Virginia willow
Virginia willow (Itea virginica) is a spreading shrub with showy spikes of tiny white flowers that bloom late winter through early summer. The plant provides food and cover for wildlife.
Read More Virginia willow
Wakerobin
Wakerobins (Trillium spp.) typically blooms in late winter before the tree canopy leafs out, but can bloom as late as early spring.
Read More Wakerobin
Walter’s aster
Walter’s aster (Symphyotrichum walteri) in late fall and early winter, providing nectar and pollen to butterflies, bees and other pollinators at a time when floral resources are limited.
Read More Walter’s aster
Wand goldenrod
Wand goldenrod (Solidago stricta) persists in wetter environments than most of our other native goldenrods, occurring naturally in wet flatwoods and prairies.
Read More Wand goldenrod
Water cowbane
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.
Read More Water cowbane
Water pimpernel
Water pimpernel (Samolus ebracteatus) is a perennial wildflower found in wet pinelands and prairies, and along freshwater and brackish swamp, marsh and stream edges.
Read More Water pimpernel
White fringed orchid
The White fringed orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis) is a striking wildflower found in bogs and wet meadows across North and Central Florida. The summer blooms attract many pollinators from bees to butterflies and moths.
Read More White fringed orchid
White lobelia
White lobelia (Lobelia paludosa) is a winsome, wet-loving wildflower found in swamps and wet flatwoods throughout much of Florida. It primarily blooms in spring and summer.
Read More White lobelia
White screwstem
Diminutive in size but not in beauty, White screwstem (Bartonia verna) takes a keen eye to see. It blooms winter through early spring and is found in wet flatwoods and bogs.
Read More White screwstem