Floridata -- Photographic Plant Encyclopedia

Floridata is an online photographic plant encyclopedia created for Florida gardeners by Jack Scheper 10 years ago. Along with 10 gardening friends/contributors he maintains a database of 730 plus Plant Profiles/Lists from annuals to vines, and everything in between. It’s a great resource for researching potential plants for your garden.


Jack has created an invaluable resource for Florida gardeners. Floridata gets my vote as one of the top resource sites for Florida gardeners. If you’ll remember, Jack was generous enough to let me link our cold-hardy plants list to his plant profiles.

Here’s what you’ll find at Floridata:

Plant Profiles/Lists

* Plants are listed alphabetically by botanical name.

* Plants are categorized by Plant Tag Lists - 9 types of plant categories: annuals, grasses, palms, perennials, shrubs, trees, water plants and cactus/succulent.

* The lists organize plants by some special feature or characteristic (such as edible, fragrant, drought, tolerant, etc.).

Note: One of my favorite resources on the homepage are links to these “special feature” lists. It’s easy to click on “Fragrant Plants” or “Shade Plants” and find a list of plants with these features.

In addition to Plant Profiles, Floridata features articles and other resources.

* Photo galleries: azalea, butterfly, camellia, pepper, Florida scrub plant, Florida scrub endangered plants, animals of the Florida scrub.

* Butterfly Resources - life cycle, photo gallery of 45 species, plants that attract butterflies.

* “How to” Articles written by Florida garden experts.

Member Profile & Forums provide a way to connect with other Florida gardeners.

* As a gardener, you can create a Profile Page that includes information on your garden. Create your own plant lists, and include a link to your blog,

* Forums and discussion groups are available for members to participate in.

When not working on Floridata, Jack maintains his own online garden journal - Jack’s Gardener’s Journal - where he writes about his experiences in his garden - Floridune near Tallahassee.

Floridata - Plant Encyclopedia
An excellent resource for Florida gardeners is Floridata. It was created by Jack Scheper who lives in the Tallahassee area. The site has many features but its best feature, by far, is its Plant Encyclopedia which contains information on 700 plants. You simply click on “Plant List” and find the plant (common and botanical names) you are interested in, and you will be rewarded with an abundance of information. Each plant page contains: common names, family, plant tags (more on them later), description, photo, location, culture, usage, features, and history. Even my local extension office uses them as a resource.
The Plant tags (click on “plant tag lists”) are graphic icons that categorize plants by type and by feature characteristics. Plant types (10 altogether) include: annuals, perennials, grasses, etc. The plant features (19 altogether) include: birds, butterflies, hummingbirds, shade, drought tolerant, wet areas, edibles, etc. These icons are depicted at the top of each reference page to provide you with additional information.
My second favorite feature on this site is their lists of best performing plants (by category). If you’re short on ideas, this is a quick reference for a list of plants to include in your garden.
I give this site high ratings for its easy usability and valuable content. I dare say it would be difficult to find another reference better than this one for Florida gardeners. In addition to its super plant encyclopedia, it also offers articles, picture gallery, forums, shopping and a place where you can submit your questions.
Well done, Jack. Your site is a wonderful treasure to Florida gardeners.