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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

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

The designer Maruti Evans illustrates the contrast effectively, the icy marble and barren trees of Sicilia transformed into a riot of colorful flora.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

The Channel Islands, an archipelago that includes three additional islands outside the park, are nicknamed the “Galapagos of North America” for the flora and fauna found only there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

“Why, we’re having a discussion on prairie flora and fauna, in honor of the late Widow Cane.”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Coty originally acquired the license back in 2016, giving it the rights to sell Gucci-branded beauty products like the Flora and Bloom fragrance lines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● 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

"I'm under no illusions that Flora will present a very tough challenge, she's undefeated as a professional and has a good amateur pedigree so I have the utmost respect for her," added Taylor.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

In worst cases it can result in a criminal conviction, Flora said, but "it can make your life pretty difficult" and it's "simply not worth it".

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

I’d just finished half a ham sandwich, the other half surrendered to Flora during one of her tantrums.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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

Map of, 215.Fossil floras, 256.France, possessions of, 419, 424.Fur-bearing animals, 278-282. Galveston,

From North America by Israel C. (Cook) Russell

This would, of course, best apply to the palæozoic floras, in so far as our present knowledge extends; but there may have been similar conditions in later periods.

From The Origin of the World According to Revelation and Science by John William Dawson

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

Sir Joseph Hooker also doubts the generally greater richness of tropical over temperate floras which I have taken as almost an axiom.

From Island Life Or the Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras by Alfred Russel Wallace

Related Words

• vegetation