Flower & Mushroom Universe This website, along with Florida Wildflowers, presents a showcase of floral and fungal pictures that we find interesting. Exploring the woods and roadsides in the United States, we have run across so many interesting and colorful plants, insects and fungi that there is not one place to present them all. These pictures represent not only Florida, but other areas of the United States to which we have traveled.  Photos copyright Michael E. Abrams.

Water lilies are found throughout the United States. This species, the fragrant water lily, is historically noted for its medicinal properties and used by Native Americans for many purposes as well as for food.  Today, it is considered invasive in many quarters and measures are often used to control the proliferation of flowers and tangle of roots.

Mondarda punctata or spotted horsemint is deceptively beautiful close-up. It's banana-yellow petals with red dots make it a handsome plant which ranges to Vermont, west to Minnesota, south to Florida, and also to Texas and Mexico. This is a late summer bloomer in the North Florida area. The leaves smell like oregano and can be used for flavoring.

Poisonous, this species of mushroom is amanita needs a wide measure of safety. Never eat a mushroom that you see, unless you have verified its safety. These fungi grow abundantly all over the world, and in Florida are profuse in damp soilsl, as these were in Liberty County.