After years of talking about it, planning it, traveling around the state of Florida shooting for it – I am please to announce that my first book, “Native Orchids of Florida” by Rich Leighton is now published and available.
Beaches and Coasts
Lakes and Rivers
Forests
Inland
Everglades
Panoramas
Black and White
Florida is world-renowned for its beautiful landscapes. With over 1350 miles of coastline from the Atlantic Ocean to the Florida Keys to the northern Gulf of Mexico, there are an incredible number of unique and beautiful habitats, especially in the Florida Everglades. We also have thousands of islands, lakes and rivers (many of those are spring-fed) and of course our unique forest habitats from Central and Northern Florida down to our oak and scrub pinelands. The following galleries have a little bit of everything that the best of Sunshine State landscapes have to offer.
Brushfoots
Gossamer Wings
Swallowtails
Skippers
Sulphurs and Whites
Moths
Did you know that Florida is home to over 1,320 species of butterflies and moths? That number is still growing with careful and painstaking research, more new species are being discovered all the time!
Anhingas, Cormorants
Birds of Prey
Carrion Birds
Coots, Rails
Cranes, Limpkins
Ducks, Geese
Egrets, Herons
Gulls, Terns
Shorebirds
Songbirds
Spoonbills, Storks
Woodpeckers
When it comes to birds, the Sunshine State is fantastically rich in species diversity. The geography of Florida’s Peninsula creates a natural migratory route for millions of birds each year as they head south over the Caribbean towards Central and South America (and back). While some species are found all around the world, we are lucky to have 196 species of birds that live and breed in Florida.
Deer
Pigs
Rabbits and Hares
Manatees
Squirrels
Raccoons
Armadillos
We mammals have come a long way since the time of the dinosaurs. Since those times, we’ve conquered the land, sea and air. Florida has at least 99 species of mammals living, breeding and thriving today.
Crustaceans
Dragonflies
Grasshoppers, Locusts
Spiders
Snails, Mollusks
Other Invertebrates
96% of all currently living animal lifeforms alive today are invertebrates. Included are all the insects, arachnids, worms, crabs, shellfish, starfish, corals, and more! One thing they all have in common? No backbone.
Alligators, Crocodiles
Lizards
Snakes
Turtles, Tortoises
Long before the first dinosaur walked the earth, reptiles ruled the world. 65 million years after the last dinosaur drew its final breath, North America’s modern crocodiles, alligators, snakes, lizards, and turtles and tortoises are still keeping our Florida natural history alive!
Tree Frogs
Toads
Did you know the word “amphibian” means “two lives”? All amphibians start their lives in the underwater, but after they go through a series of metamorphosis stages to adulthood, most trade gills for lungs and live the rest of their lives out of the water. Florida is home to 33 native and non-native species of frogs and toads, and many more species of salamanders, newts and sirens!
Arethuseae
Calypsoeae
Cranichideae
Cymbidieae
Epidendreae
Malaxideae
Maxillarieae
Neottieae
Orchideae
Pogoniinae
Polystachyeae
Triphoreae
Vandeae
Vanilleae
One of the largest families in the plant kingdom with nearly 28 thousand species around the globe, orchids are also one of the most popular and most sought-after flowering plants in history. In Victorian times, entire foreign expeditions were sent around the world at great personal risk led by fearless (and often ruthless) orchid hunters to acquire the next new unknown exotic species from the most distant corner of the Earth. Luckily for us, Florida is rich with unique native species found nowhere else in the world!
Wildflowers by Color
Wildflowers by Family
By far our largest collection of galleries, these wildflower image sets are arranged by both color and by taxonomic family for use as a casual identification tool or field guide, or for more thorough scientific research for deeper understanding.
Pitcher Plants
Venus Flytraps
Bladderworts
Butterworts
Sundews
Sometimes called insectivorous plants, these amazing plants have adapted to a life in places where the soil is so poor in nutrients, that they’ve gained the ability to grow by trapping their food with modified leaves. By taking root in a harsh habitat, they have eliminated most of their competition from other plants.
Bromeliads
Mushrooms
Plants
Saprophytes
This last and final collection of galleries include all the non-wildflower images such as our native trees, ferns, palms, fruits and berries, cacti, saprophytes, mosses, bromeliads and more!
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