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!
Florida Nature Facts #140 – Sandhill Crane

Florida Nature Facts #140 – Sandhill Crane

Oct 2, 2020

Sandhill cranes are one of only two crane species found in North America (the other being the endangered whooping crane), and are the most abundant species of the world’s cranes. MORE PHOTOS OF CRANES, LIMPKINS AND RAILS MORE FLORIDA NATURE FACTS Florida Nature Facts...

Florida Nature Facts #138 – Honeybees

Florida Nature Facts #138 – Honeybees

Sep 22, 2020

If a honeybee keeps-waggle dancing in favor of an unpopular nesting site, other workers will head-butt her in an attempt to help the colony reach a consensus. VISIT THE INVERTEBRATES GALLERY MORE FLORIDA NATURE FACTS Florida Nature Facts is a series about interesting...

Florida Nature Facts #137 – Spider Silk

Florida Nature Facts #137 – Spider Silk

Sep 5, 2020

A single strand of spider silk is thinner than a human hair, but also five times stronger than steel of the same width. A rope just 2 inches thick could reportedly stop a Boeing 747. MORE PHOTOS OF SPIDERS MORE FLORIDA NATURE FACTS Florida Nature Facts is a series...

Florida Nature Facts #136 – Green Lynx Spider

Florida Nature Facts #136 – Green Lynx Spider

Aug 31, 2020

The green lynx spider has an appetite for insects belonging to the Lepidoptera family (moths and their larvae) that are known to be enemies of crops like corn, cotton, cabbage, etc. Although their importance in the controlling of pests is counteracted by their...

Florida Nature Facts #135 – Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Florida Nature Facts #135 – Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Aug 26, 2020

If you ever see one of these large 2 to 3-inch, slow-moving grasshoppers impaled on a thorn or barbed wire fence and can't possibly figure out how it got there then here's your answer: The loggerhead shrike often catches them and pins them in place until some of the...

Florida Nature Facts #132 – Horseshoe Crabs

Florida Nature Facts #132 – Horseshoe Crabs

Jul 7, 2020

Horseshoe crabs are more closely related to arachnids (spiders & scorpions) than crabs. Among oldest animals on earth, spot them in shallow soft-bottom areas on the beach. Help upside-down crabs found by gently turning them over, picking up both sides of the body...

Florida Nature Facts #131 – Tread Softly

Florida Nature Facts #131 – Tread Softly

Jun 23, 2020

Can a plant me any more badass than tread softly (Cnidoscolus stimulosus)? It has stinging hairs like nettle, sticky latex and spiky leaves that release cyanide when damaged, and nectaries on its leaves that attract protective ants to their sugary sweetness. MORE...

Florida Nature Facts #130 – American White Ibis

Florida Nature Facts #130 – American White Ibis

Jun 18, 2020

When baby white ibises hatch their bills are straight. Ibis bills don’t start to curve downward until they are 14 days old. MORE PHOTOS OF BIRDS MORE FLORIDA NATURE FACTS Florida Nature Facts is a series about interesting facts about the flora, fauna and places that...

Florida Nature Facts #129 – Sphinx Moths

Florida Nature Facts #129 – Sphinx Moths

Jun 13, 2020

Their size and rapid wing beats allow sphinx moths to hover and feed like hummingbirds, which is why they were nicknamed 'hummingbird moths'. People often mistake the protrusion on the back of the sphinx caterpillar for a stinger. MORE PHOTOS OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS...

Florida Nature Facts #128 – White Peacock Butterfly

Florida Nature Facts #128 – White Peacock Butterfly

Jun 8, 2020

When threatened or bothered, the white peacock butterfly will flash its wings and produce hissing sound by rubbing its wings in front of the predator. It is also very long-lived for a butterfly, often living up to 11 months! MORE PHOTOS OF BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS MORE...

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