Mississippi is blessed with an abundance of wildflowers and other native plants and trees due to a variety of soil conditions, temperature, humidity and rainfall.

The state also has a diverse topography, ranging from areas near the coast at sea level to elevations of more than 800 feet above sea level in the Woodall Mountains in Tishomingo County.

With thousands of native species growing in the state, many are sometimes difficult for the public to identify. A new online resource was developed to assist amateurs as well as professionals in identifying the most common wildflowers and native plants and trees that grow in the Southeastern United States. It can be found at www.southeasternflora.com.

For years, S. Lee Timme’s “Wildflowers of Mississippi” has been one of the best resources to help amateurs identify the 500 most common wildflowers found in the state. Before its publication in 1989, Mississippi was the only state without a field guide for wildflowers, and this was the culmination of a project undertaken by the then fledgling Mississippi Native Plant Society.

Numerous books have been written since the native plant landscaping trend emerged. Native plants and trees offer homeowners and professional landscapers some options that generally are hardier and easier to maintain than many of the exotic species that have dominated the nursery trade for the past century.

The southeasternflora.com site has more than 1,240 species listed with 19,900 outstanding color photographs to help identify trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous plants. It is easy to use.

A glossary provides information about characteristics that the viewer will need to supply in order to identify a plant specimen. They include color, plant form, leaf type and leaf arrangement. Viewers can plug in the information, and the site will match the plant with what the viewer has entered.

Species are listed alphabetically by common or scientific name in another section of the site. Locate the name and click on it and a series of pictures will come up showing the plant in bloom, fruited, the leaf structure and what the species looks like growing in the wild. Sometimes it is hard to identify a plant or tree from one small photograph of a bloom that is typically offered in such publications as Timme’s book.

The site also lists references for additional information, including books and a series of web links including the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, IT IS Data Access, University of Tennessee Herbarium, Ferns of Mississippi, Flora of North America, Tropicos and Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants. With the scope of this site, a viewer is linked to a truly vast array of information.

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Miriam Jabour, a Master Gardener and Master Flower Show judge, has been active in the Openwood Plantation Garden Club for over 35 years. Write to her at 1114 Windy Lake Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183.