EPA Level III Ecoregion
Southern Florida Coastal Plain
485 native plants for the Southern Florida Coastal Plain ecoregion (Miami area).
The Southern Florida Coastal Plain is the only tropical ecoregion in the continental United States, running from roughly Lake Okeechobee down through the Everglades, the Miami area, and the Keys. There is no real winter, rain arrives in a heavy summer wet season, and the ground is sand or limestone with the water table close beneath it. Natives such as scarlet sage and pigeonberry are built for that heat and rainfall pattern, and they recover from storms that flatten imported ornamentals.
Conditions: Sand and limestone over a very high water table, 50–65 inches of rain concentrated May through October, no frost, hurricane exposure.
Cities and areas: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, West Palm Beach, Key West, Homestead.
485 Native Plants for the Southern Florida Coastal Plain
HOA-friendly picks listed first. Pet-safety status varies by species; each plant page shows its sourced ASPCA status. Native range data from vouchered herbarium specimen records and regional native plant society lists.
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Butterfly Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa
Rattlesnake Master
Eryngium yuccifolium
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Purple Lovegrass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Whorled Milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Gulf Muhly
Muhlenbergia capillaris
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Red Maple
Acer rubrum
Sweetbay Magnolia
Magnolia virginiana
Appalachian-tea
Ilex glabra
Scarlet Sage
Salvia coccinea
American Germander
Teucrium canadense
Royal Fern
Osmunda regalis
Winged Loosestrife
Lythrum alatum
Splitbeard Bluestem
Andropogon ternarius
Pigeonberry
Rivina humilis
Wood Fern
Thelypteris kunthii
Fetterbush
Lyonia lucida
Cinnamon fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
Green arrow arum
Peltandra virginica
Horseherb
Calyptocarpus vialis
Southern Sneezeweed
Helenium flexuosum
Whitetop Sedge
Rhynchospora colorata
Cucumberleaf sunflower
Helianthus debilis
Narrowleaf Silkgrass
Pityopsis graminifolia
Esperanza
Tecoma stans
Pineywoods Dropseed
Sporobolus junceus
Forked bluecurls
Trichostema dichotomum
Nash's Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium nashii
Water Hyssop
Bacopa monnieri
Sea Ox-eye Daisy
Borrichia frutescens
St. Andrew's-cross
Hypericum hypericoides
Small Bluebell
Eustoma exaltatum
Carolina Wild Petunia
Ruellia caroliniensis
Wand goldenrod
Solidago stricta
Dahoon
Ilex cassine
Southern wax myrtle
Myrica cerifera
Smallspike False Nettle
Boehmeria cylindrica
Sand Live Oak
Quercus geminata
Elliott's lovegrass
Eragrostis elliottii
Scorpion's Tail
Heliotropium angiospermum
Clustered Bushmint
Hyptis alata
Redtop Panicgrass
Coleataenia rigidula
Showing 48 of 485. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Southern Florida Coastal Plain
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- Narrow leaf baccharis
Fall is bloom season; female plants cover themselves in fluffy white seed heads that draw late-season pollinators.
- Black eyed susan
Fall brings a wind-down of blooms and seed set around Miami.
- Switchgrass
Fall brings the airy seed heads that make switchgrass stand out in South Florida beds.
- American beautyberry
Fall is when the purple berry clusters peak and become an important food source for local birds.
- Butterfly milkweed
Seed pods split in fall as South Florida's rainy season winds down.
- Swamp milkweed
Seed pods form as the wet season tapers off.
Build a plan for the Southern Florida Coastal Plain
The Pollinator Patch App turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Miami area.