Overview
Florida's warm, wet climate supports everything from pine flatwoods to cypress swamp to subtropical hammock. A few palm, needle, and leaf clues make its common trees easy to tell apart.
This guide covers common and iconic Florida trees — how to tell them apart by leaf, bark, and habit. Pair it with a photo of the foliage or bark and the app to confirm any tree you find.
Key Species to Know
Cabbage Palm
Sabal palmetto
The Florida state tree — a fan palm with large, folded palmate fronds and a rough, often "boot"-covered trunk. The most abundant palm in the state.
Southern Live Oak
Quercus virginiana
A massive, spreading evergreen oak with small, leathery oval leaves and wide limbs often draped in Spanish moss. A defining tree of Florida yards and parks.
Southern Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
A stately evergreen with large, glossy dark-green leaves (rusty beneath) and huge, fragrant creamy-white flowers in late spring.
Slash Pine
Pinus elliottii
A tall pine with glossy needles in bundles of two and three and platy reddish bark, dominating Florida's flatwoods and plantations.
Bald Cypress
Taxodium distichum
A deciduous conifer of southern swamps with feathery needles that turn rusty in fall and distinctive "knees" rising from the water around its base.
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris
A pine with very long needles in bundles of three and large cones, once dominant across the coastal plain. A "grass-stage" seedling looks like a tuft of grass.
Seasonal Guide
- Late spring: southern magnolia opens its huge white flowers.
- Fall: bald cypress turns rusty-orange in the swamps while pines and palms stay green.
- Winter: evergreen live oak, magnolia, and palms keep Florida green year-round.
Safety Reminder
This is an identification guide only — it does not cover edibility or foraging. Observe trees without damaging bark or breaking limbs, and stay on boardwalks and trails in swamps and wetlands.
Identify it instantly
Found something and not sure what it is? Point your camera with Spotter and get a species identification in seconds — with detailed reference info and species notes.