What's Blooming in June?

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Here are some of the gorgeous native wildflowers you'll see when hiking through a Hillsborough County Conservation Park or Nature Preserve this month! 


Trumpet Creeper


Found throughout the southeastern U.S., trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) can be easily recognized by its showy red trumpet-shaped flowers. This beautiful and fast-growing vine is found in woodlands, hammock areas, and thickets and thrives in both sun and shade. Trumpet creeper's bright flowers attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. Look for these colorful blooms along the trails of Camp Bayou Nature Preserve in Ruskin and Cypress Creek Nature Preserve in Tampa.


Alligator Lily

Bob Peterson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alligator lily (Hymenocallus palmeri) is endemic to Florida, meaning it's found nowhere else in the world! This lovely lily can be found in ditches, wet roadsides and meadows, and the edges of cypress swamps and wetlands. Look for its delicate white blooms and spidery yellow-green foliage as you hike at Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve in Riverview and Lake Dan Nature Preserve in Odessa.


Passionflower


It may look a little alien, but this beautiful vine (Passiflora incarnata) is a treasured Florida native plant! Also known as the Maypop, this vine sports complex purple flowers which provide nectar to many pollinator species. The small round fruit is also an important food source for native wildlife, including deer, raccoons, and birds. Find the native purple passionflower vine in open areas along the trail at Alderman's Ford Nature Preserve in Plant City and Alafia River Corridor Nature Preserve North in Lithia.


Beach Sunflower


This cheery, bright-yellow native wildflower (Helianthus debilis) thrives in the toughest conditions Florida has to offer. Growing in pure sand and easily withstanding salt spray, heat, drought, and wind, beach sunflower blooms throughout the summer and sometimes even year-round. A pollinator favorite, this colorful plant also makes an excellent addition to gardens and can be found at many native nurseries. Look for beach sunflower along the trail at Apollo Beach Nature Preserve (and make sure to check out the ADA accessible observation tower while you're there!)


American Beautyberry


The lovely American beautyberry shrub (Callicarpa americana) lives up to its name- but it wasn't named for its flowers! You'll have to look hard to spot these demure, tiny, light-purple blooms hiding between the spreading leaves. In the late summer and fall, the delicate flowers give way to the bright and showy purple berries that give this plant its name. Look for beautyberry in shady hammock areas along the trail at Triple Creek Nature Preserve in Riverview.




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