Alabama Wildflower Gallery

Alabama is home to a remarkably diverse variety of habitats, from the mountainous north to the boggy and sandy coast. These habitats are host to numerous species of wildflowers that range from the showy pitcherplants of the bogs to the delicate wildflowers of the mountain forests. From spring to fall, vines, shrubs, perennials, and annuals blossom in woods, open fields, and wetlands throughout the state.

Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library: http://diglib.auburn.edu/collections/wildflower

Red Buckeye

Red Buckeye

Spurred Butterfly Pea

Spurred Butterfly Pea

Butterfly Weed

Butterfly Weed

Cardamine

Cardamine

Soapwort Gentian

Soapwort Gentian

Golden Club

Golden Club

Wild Ginger

Wild Ginger

Carolina Lily

Carolina Lily

Mayapple

Mayapple

Prickly Pear Cactus

Prickly Pear Cactus

Sensitive Briar

Sensitive Briar

Trout Lily

Trout Lily

Violet Butterwort

Violet Butterwort

Rosebud Orchid

Rosebud Orchid

Red Buckeye

The spring-blooming red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) is a small understory tree found commonly throughout forests in the southeastern United States. The striking red flower stalk and palmate leaves clearly identify the species.

Photograph by Curtis Hansen
Red Buckeye

Spurred Butterfly Pea

The spurred butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum) is a trailing perennial vine with alternate leaves of three leaflets. A member of the legume family, it bears violet flowers in spring and summer. Each flower lasts only one day.

Courtesy of the Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Spurred Butterfly Pea

Butterfly Weed

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a summer-blooming member of the milkweed family that grows in dry meadows or open woods. Its bright orange flowers are attractive to butterflies, hence its common name.

Courtesy of Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Butterfly Weed

Cardamine

An early spring flower in the mustard family, Cardamine concatenata (sometimes known as cutleaf toothwort) is commonly found in the northern mountains of Alabama, but it also grows more sporadically in the southerly portions of the state.

Photograph by Curtis Hansen
Cardamine

Soapwort Gentian

The Soapwort Gentian (Gentiana saponaria) is found in moist meadows, wooded areas, and ditches throughout the northern half of Alabama. A perennial, the soapwort gentian, so named for its resemblance to the soapwort plant, blooms in late summer and early fall, and the flowers remain almost closed even when it is in full bloom.

Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Soapwort Gentian

Golden Club

The aquatic golden club (Orontium aquaticum) is found throughout the state in shallow streams, bogs, and wet areas. The plant's distinctive flower spikes, for which it is named, appear in early spring.

Courtesy of the Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Golden Club

Wild Ginger

Wild ginger (Hexastylis arifolia), so-called for the distinctive spicy smell of the crushed leaves, is a wildflower found throughout the state in moist woodlands with rich soils. The unusual shape of the flowers gives the plant its other common name: little brown jug.

Photograph by Curtis Hansen
Wild Ginger

Carolina Lily

The Carolina lily (Lilium michauxii) is found in rich woods primarily in the Valley and Ridge and Piedmont Upland regions of Alabama. An uncommon species, the lily bears large and attractive nodding blooms from July to August.

Photograph by Curtis Hansen
Carolina Lily

Mayapple

The spreading mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) occurs throughout the eastern United States in moist open woodlands under deciduous trees. The white, single bloom appears in early spring after the mayapple's two large leaves unfurl, and the "apple" fruit for which it is named appears in late summer.

Courtesy of the Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Mayapple

Prickly Pear Cactus

The prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa) is a low-growing perennial shrub found mostly on the coastal plain, especially on dunes, in sandhills, and on deep sand deposits along rivers. It bears flattened pads and segmented branches. The numerous yellowish blooms appear in May and June and are followed by purple, edible pods.

Courtesy of the Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Prickly Pear Cactus

Sensitive Briar

The sensitive briar (Mimosa microphylla), a low-growing perennial, earned its common name because its leaflets fold up at the slightest touch. The spiny plant grows in open areas throughout the state, and its pink flower clusters appear from May through September.

Courtesy of the Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Sensitive Briar

Trout Lily

Found in rich, moist woods in the northern sections of the state, the trout lily (Erythronium americanum), bears delicate white blooms in spring. It is pollinated by ants.

Courtesy of Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Trout Lily

Violet Butterwort

The carnivorous violet butterwort (Pinguicula caerulea) traps insects with a sticky secretion on the upper sides of its leaves. The wildflower is found in the southernmost boggy parts of the state. The violet blooms appear from February through April.

Courtesy of the Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection, Auburn University Digital Library
Violet Butterwort

Rosebud Orchid

Known commonly as the rosebud orchid or spreading pogonia, (Cleistes bifaria) is a beautiful and uncommon orchid species found in many of the southern bogs on the Coastal Plain in Alabama.

Photograph by Curtis Hansen
Rosebud Orchid
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