flora

noun flo·ra \ ˈflȯr-ə \

|Updated on: 14 Aug 2018

Examples: flora in a Sentence

Editor's Note: flora Has Roots in Roman Mythology

Definition of flora

plural floras also florae play \ˈflȯr-ˌē, -ˌī\

1 : a treatise on or list of the plants of an area or period

2 : plant, bacterial, or fungal life; especially : such life characteristic of a region, period, or special environment

fossil flora

intestinal flora

— compare fauna

See flora defined for English-language learners

See flora defined for kids

Examples of flora in a Sentence

an amazing variety of coastal flora
the floras of different coastal regions

Recent Examples of flora from the Web

Hives should also be placed where the bees have access to water and plenty of flora.

— bethany ao, Philly.com, "Philly millennials are buzzing about beekeeping," 11 July 2018
The tapestry in the title is a reference to the interwoven nature of the countless flora.

— adrian higgins, sacbee, "Fertilize your creative spirit with these gardening books," 8 June 2018
This exhibition gathers many of their materials: drawings, topographic maps and studies of flora and fauna.

— carolina a. miranda, latimes.com, "Datebook: Baskets inspired by math, iconic Los Angeles images and photos of people getting expressive," 24 May 2018
Over the past two decades, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded multiple initiatives from genome sequencing to plant metabolism to improve our understanding of the world’s flora.

— Discover Magazine, "At the Cutting Edge of Plant Science," 2 May 2018
The new study shows just how closely related the floras are.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "A Surprising Way Dogs Are Similar to Humans," 23 Apr. 2018
Thousands of miles of sandy desert dotted with shipwrecks meet with the cold waters on the Atlantic, and somehow an amazing array of wildlife and flora manages to survive in this harsh but beautiful environment.

— julian harrison, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Trip to Africa," 5 Oct. 2016
The event is a literal garden of riches for green thumb types, but even the flora-deficient can dig up a good time among the many displays, workshops and demonstrations.

— gwendolyn purdom, RedEye Chicago, "Chicago date idea: Chicago Flower & Garden Show then burgers at DMK," 9 Mar. 2018
African Parks assumes day-to-day management of countries' wildlife areas, seeking more efficiency and accountability in the campaign to protect flora and fauna from poaching and habitat depletion.

— christopher torchia, Fox News, "Backed by Prince Harry, conservation group expands in Africa," 7 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flora.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

flora Has Roots in Roman Mythology

Flora means "flower" in Latin, and Flora was the Roman goddess of spring and flowering plants, especially wildflowers and plants not raised for food. She was shown as a beautiful young woman in a long, flowing dress with flowers in her hair, strewing flowers over the earth. English preserves her name in such words as floral, floret, and flourish. A region's flora may range from tiny violets to towering trees. The common phrase "flora and fauna" covers just about every visible living thing.