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 #110 – Fakahatchee Strand

Florida Nature Facts #110 – Fakahatchee Strand

Dec 17, 2019

The Fakahatchee Strand in Southwest Florida is famous for its variety of wild native orchids - particularly the ghost orchid, as well as its rare ferns and bromeliads. Part of the Northern Florida Everglades system, it has an extremely diverse eco system with plenty...

Florida Nature Facts #104 – Mushrooms

Florida Nature Facts #104 – Mushrooms

Nov 8, 2019

Over 80 percent of all terrestrial plants have a mycorrhizal relationship with mushrooms. The roots of the plants have a symbiotic relationship with the underground mycelium. Mycelium nourishes the plant’s roots, and in turn, the plant transfers nutrients to the...

Florida Nature Facts #103 – Native Orchids

Florida Nature Facts #103 – Native Orchids

Oct 28, 2019

Roughly 10 percent of all plant species are orchids, making them the largest plant family on Earth. MORE PHOTOS OF ORCHIDS MORE FLORIDA NATURE FACTS Florida Nature Facts is a series about interesting facts about the flora, fauna and places that make Florida so...

Florida Nature Facts #102 – Warblers

Florida Nature Facts #102 – Warblers

Oct 23, 2019

You can find 50 species of warblers in North America. Most warblers are specialized to eat insects. They migrate to the tropics for winter. A few, like the yellow-rumped warbler, can shift their diets to berries during winter in the United States. MORE PHOTOS OF BIRDS...

Florida Nature Facts #100 – American Crocodile

Florida Nature Facts #100 – American Crocodile

Oct 13, 2019

In the United States, the American crocodile can be found in southern Florida; chiefly in the Everglades National Park, Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay, and the Florida Keys from Miami southward. No one knows exactly how large the population is and estimations vary from 500...

Florida Nature Facts #98 – Carnivorous Plants

Florida Nature Facts #98 – Carnivorous Plants

Sep 20, 2019

The 600 or so carnivorous species on the planet today thrive in places where other plants struggle, including bogs and heaths. The adaptation of trapping and digesting prey has arisen at least nine times in different plant families in response to soil lacking the...

Florida Nature Facts #97 – Pitcher Plants

Florida Nature Facts #97 – Pitcher Plants

Sep 15, 2019

Pitcher plants are shaped like a pitcher or narrow champagne glass. The top and inside of the pitcher is covered with a slippery, but sweet-smelling nectar. When insects come to take a sip, they slip and fall into the pitcher which is typically filled with water and...

Florida Nature Facts #96 – Sundews

Florida Nature Facts #96 – Sundews

Sep 10, 2019

Often described as "living flypaper", the sundew has tentacle-like leaves which are covered in sticky, glandular hairs. The plant’s tacky secretion gives off a sweet scent, which attracts insects. Once an insect is stuck to its leaf, the sundew will curl inwards to...

Florida Nature Facts #95 – Bladderworts

Florida Nature Facts #95 – Bladderworts

Aug 29, 2019

Mostly found living in lakes and rivers, the carnivorous bladderwort has a floating stem with tiny sack-like traps growing along it. These traps, or ‘bladders’, have clever door-like valves that open and shut within thousandths of a second when triggered. The...

Florida Nature Facts #94 – Butterworts

Florida Nature Facts #94 – Butterworts

Aug 24, 2019

Butterworts have flat, sticky leaves that function like a cross between flypaper and a stomach. When insects land on a butterwort’s leaves, they get stuck in goo that’s excreted by sticky glands. The plant releases digestive enzymes and absorbs those tasty bug...

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