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🇺🇸 The flowers of the United States

330 pages from the United States: its flowers, the things made with them and the places to see them, across 60 cities and regions.

The United States is home to about 17,000 native species of flowering plants, making its flora among the richest in the temperate world. Its plant life ranges from arctic tundra to tropical forests, deserts, and rainforests. The country is known for flowering dogwood, redbud, magnolia, and mountain laurel, among others.

  • About 17,000 native flowering plant species grow in the U.S.
  • The flora ranges from arctic tundra to tropical rainforest and desert.
  • Flowering dogwood and southern magnolia are famous U.S. natives.
  • Thousands of native plants are rare, threatened, or endangered.
  • Blueberries and cranberries originated in the United States.

The plant life of the United States

Plant life in the United States is shaped by a wide range of climates and landscapes, from the arctic regions of Alaska to the tropical areas of Florida and Hawaii. The country’s flora is extremely diverse, with about 17,000 native vascular plant species and thousands more non-native plants now established. The U.S. supports rainforests, deserts, alpine meadows, and temperate forests, making it one of the most botanically varied temperate countries globally. Its native plants include many ornamentals and important crops.

From region to region in the United States

Flora changes dramatically across the United States. The arctic north of Alaska, tropical southern Florida and Hawaii, and the varied mountains and plains each have their own characteristic plants. Coastal areas face three different oceans, while deserts, rainforests, and alpine zones add to the diversity. The country is divided into several floristic regions and provinces, each with unique species and levels of endemism.

Flowers to know in the United States

Several flowering plants from the U.S. are now grown worldwide as ornamentals, such as flowering dogwood, redbud, mountain laurel, southern magnolia, and bald cypress. The country is also the original home of food plants like blueberries, cranberries, black raspberries, and pecans. Some species, like Franklinia alatamaha, are extinct or possibly extinct in the wild, while thousands more are considered rare or threatened.

How flowers are used in the United States

Many U.S. native plants are cultivated for gardens and landscaping, especially flowering trees and shrubs. The flora has also contributed important food crops, including berries, nuts, and maple syrup. Timber trees like Monterey pine are significant as well. Traditional uses and customs are not detailed in the source.

Threats and protection in the United States

Extinction and endangerment affect many native U.S. plants. Some, like Franklinia alatamaha, are extinct or missing from the wild. Thousands of other species are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered, either across their whole range or in particular states. Conservation efforts and reserves are implied but not described in detail.

Where this page comes from

The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Flora of the United States", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Phool rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

Flower experiences in the United States

All 20
🇺🇸 Honolulu · All yearMake a lei in HonoluluLearn to string a Hawaiian flower lei, and see the lei stands of Chinatown. 🇺🇸 Los Angeles · All yearThe Los Angeles Flower District at dawnSeveral blocks of wholesale flower halls in downtown Los Angeles, open to the public and busiest before sunrise. 🇺🇸 New York City · All yearThe flower block on West 28th StreetA single Manhattan block where wholesale florists put trees, branches and buckets of flowers out on the pavement each morning. 🇺🇸 Kennett Square · All yearLongwood Gardens and its conservatoryThe former du Pont estate in Pennsylvania, with a vast glass conservatory, fountains and flower displays in every season. 🇺🇸 New York City · Feb to OctThe New York Botanical Garden in the BronxA 250-acre garden with a Victorian-style glasshouse, a late winter orchid show, an azalea hillside and a large rose garden. 🇺🇸 San Marino · Jan to DecThe Huntington's rose, camellia and desert gardensA library and art estate near Pasadena with more than a dozen themed gardens, strongest in winter and spring.

Cities and regions of the United States

California 13Hawaii 10Texas 6Arizona 5New Mexico 5New York City 5Portland 5Alabama 4Chicago 4Louisiana 4North Carolina 4Oregon 4Philadelphia 4Tennessee 4Washington, D.C. 4Alaska 3Florida 3Oklahoma 3Rochester 3San Francisco 3Utah 3Washington 3Berkeley 2Boston 2Colorado 2Columbus 2Connecticut 2Encinitas 2Everglades 2Hamakua 2Holland 2Honolulu 2Indiana 2Kauaʻi 2Kauai 2Kentucky 2Mackinac Island 2Macon 2Maui 2Miami 2Miami-Dade County 2Missouri 2New Hampshire 2North Dakota 2Ohio 2Pasadena 2Salt Lake City 2Tucson 2Virginia 2Wyoming 2Airlie Gardens 1Aleutian Islands 1Altamaha River valley 1Anchorage 1Antelope Valley 1Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve 1Anza-Borrego Park 1Appalachian Mountains 1Arcadia 1Arkansas 1
ShowFlowersDecorationsPlaces
ColourRedPinkOrangeYellowWhiteCreamBluePurpleGreenMaroonMany-coloured
KindWildflowerGarden flowerCut flowerFlowering treeFlowering shrubBulb flowerClimberOrchidWater flowerCactus or succulentAlpine flowerTropical flowerHerb or useful flower
In flowerSpringSummerMonsoonAutumnWinter
LotusNelumbo Aquatic plants with large, round leaves and striking flowers called lotus 🇮🇳 India and 7 more · Water flower Giant blue irisIris giganticaerulea Tall blue-flowered iris native to the wetlands of the southern United States 🇺🇸 United States · Wildflower Pygmy waterlilyNymphaea tetragona A small white waterlily found in calm waters across the northern hemisphere 🇨🇳 China and 7 more · Wildflower PipewortEriocaulon Small wetland flowers found across tropical and temperate regions 🇦🇺 Australia and 4 more · Wildflower Cahaba lilyHymenocallis coronaria A white aquatic flower found on rocky river shoals in the southeastern United States 🇺🇸 United States · Wildflower Japanese irisIris ensata A tall, rhizomatous iris with bluish-purple flowers and yellow-marked falls 🇯🇵 Japan and 3 more · Garden flower

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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