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• flora
  flora

  noun

  the plants of a particular region or period, listed by species and considered as a whole.
• Flora
  Flora

  noun

  a female given name.

flora

¹ American  

[flawr-uh, flohr-uh] / ˈflɔr ə, ˈfloʊr ə /

noun

• floras,
  plural
• florae
  plural

1. 

   the plants of a particular region or period, listed by species and considered as a whole.

2. a work systematically describing such plants.

3. plants, as distinguished from fauna.

4. the aggregate of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms normally occurring on or in the bodies of humans and other animals.

   intestinal flora.

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Flora ² American  

[flawr-uh, flohr-uh] / ˈflɔr ə, ˈfloʊr ə /

noun

1. a female given name.

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flora ¹ British  

/ ˈflɔːrə /

noun

1. all the plant life of a given place or time

2. a descriptive list of such plants, often including a key for identification

3. short for intestinal flora

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Flora ² British  

/ ˈflɔːrə /

noun

1. the Roman goddess of flowers

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flora Scientific  

/ flôr′ə /

• floras
  plural

1. The plants of a particular region or time period.

2. The bacteria and other microorganisms that normally inhabit a bodily organ or part, such as the intestine.

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flora Cultural  

1. Plants, especially the plants of a particular place and time.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subflora
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• florae
  plural
• floras
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flora

First recorded in 1655–65; from New Latin, Latin Flōra the Roman goddess of flowers (used from the 17th century in the titles of botanical works), derivative of Latin flōr- (stem of flōs ) “flower”

Explanation

The flora of a particular area consists of its plant species, considered as a whole. The word also refers to the plant life of a particular era — for example, fossilized plants can help us determine the flora at the time of dinosaurs. The use of the word flora as referring to a particular area's vegetation has been used by botanists since the 1640s, but it became common with Swedish botanist Linnaeus, who in 1745 wrote "Flora Suecica," a study of the plant life of Sweden. The word was a natural fit, as Flōra was the name of the Roman goddess of flowers. When scientists study a region's flora, they classify their findings and create a descriptive list, which is also called a flora.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flora Flora floras

Burnt-sienna vines twist through simmering ocher air, while flora sprout through these roiling masses in hues of chromium oxide and cadmium green.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

The tails side of every newly-minted coin from the 1p to the £2 now features the country's flora and fauna - from bees to an oak tree leaf.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Genetic material recovered from internal tissues included bacteria that were part of Ötzi's original gut flora.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

Because they drained their savings buying and fixing up the house, they needed the cash infusions to fund the flora.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Our other example of indigenous agriculture apparently constrained by the local flora comes from the eastern United States.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Flora Alexander, executive director of the International Rescue Committee UK, said she welcomed the government prioritising Afghan women and girls and Palestinians under the UKRS.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

First pitcher selected in this year’s draft: Jackson Flora of UC Santa Barbara, taken fourth overall by the San Francisco Giants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

One thing Flora has been able to take advantage of though is the fact that the cost of hiring a car has dropped across all of the most searched-for destinations compared to last year.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

Smart glasses have been slowly growing in usage, but the category overall faces several barriers to mainstream adoption, said Flora Tang, principal analyst at Counterpoint Research.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026

Flora ran through the tall grass and cleared the fence between her yard and the Tickhams’ in a single bound.

From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo

Of the 1,000 or so species of floras in the park, lodgepole pine and the duff from its fallen needles and branches provided most of the fuel for the fires.

From Time Magazine Archive

The question of the mode in which the floras of islands and of continents have been formed gave rise to important speculations by such eminent botanical travellers as Charles Darwin, Sir J.D.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various

Within the tropical forest, however, there are high mountains on which trees with the general characteristic of those more northern floras find a congenial habitat.

From North America by Israel C. (Cook) Russell

In this way the similarity between the Alpine and Scandinavian faunas and floras is assumed to have been brought about.

From The History of the European Fauna by Robert Francis Scharff

Some floras of early late Pliocene of the southwestern United States reflect a climate slightly cooler and more moist than the climates of the middle Pliocene.

From Speciation and Evolution of the Pygmy Mice, Genus Baiomys by Robert L. Packard

Related Words

• vegetation