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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
KindBotanical gardenFlower gardenFlower marketBloom siteFestival or show
Place Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens A historic glasshouse and botanical garden in Columbus, Ohio Columbus, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Limahuli Garden and Preserve A tropical botanical garden and nature preserve on Kauaʻi’s north shore Kauaʻi, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Ladew Topiary Gardens A topiary garden estate with themed rooms in Monkton, Maryland Monkton, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden, Apr to Oct Place Bartram's Garden America's oldest surviving botanical garden, on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia Philadelphia, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens A major library, art museum, and 120-acre botanical garden in San Marino, California 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Descanso Gardens A 150-acre botanical garden in La Cañada Flintridge, California La Cañada Flintridge, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place International Peace GardenJardin international de la paix A vast flower garden on the border of Canada and the United States Boissevain, 🇨🇦 Canada · Botanical garden Place Longwood Gardens A vast public garden with formal displays, woodlands, and meadows in Pennsylvania Kennett Square, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Morton Arboretum A vast tree-focused botanical garden and outdoor museum near Chicago Chicago, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Chanticleer Garden A 48-acre public garden on a historic estate near Philadelphia Wayne, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden, Apr to Oct Place Skagit Valley Tulip Festival A month-long tulip festival in Skagit Valley, Washington each April Mount Vernon, 🇺🇸 United States · Festival or show, April Place San Juan Botanical Garden A 300-acre garden of tropical plants and research in San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Rochester Lilac Festival A ten-day spring festival among 1,200 lilac bushes in Rochester, New York Rochester, 🇺🇸 United States · Festival or show, May Place North Carolina Azalea Festival Annual spring festival celebrating gardens and azaleas in Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington, 🇺🇸 United States · Festival or show, April Place Betty Ford Alpine Gardens A high-altitude botanical garden in Vail, Colorado Vail, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Red Butte Garden and Arboretum A public botanical garden and arboretum at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Missouri Botanical Garden A historic botanical garden and research center in St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Arnold Arboretum A public garden and research center for trees and shrubs in Boston Boston, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Marie Selby Botanical Gardens A 15-acre botanical garden in Sarasota, Florida with major orchid and bromeliad collections Sarasota, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Thanksgiving Point A large garden, museum, and farm complex in Lehi, Utah Lehi, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden A 66-acre public garden with themed landscapes and historic estates in Dallas, Texas Dallas, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Alaska Botanical Garden A year-round botanical garden in Anchorage with forest trails and themed plantings Anchorage, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Boyce Thompson Arboretum A desert botanical garden in Arizona with global arid-land plants Superior, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Lurie Garden A public garden on Chicago’s largest green roof Chicago, 🇺🇸 United States · Flower garden, Jun to Oct Place Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens A Victorian glasshouse with themed gardens in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park Pittsburgh, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place New York Botanical Garden A 250-acre botanical garden in the Bronx, New York City 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden Place Atlanta Botanical Garden A 30-acre botanical garden in Midtown Atlanta Atlanta, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden, All year Place Oregon Garden A 130-acre botanical garden in Silverton, Oregon Silverton, 🇺🇸 United States · Botanical garden
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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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