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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

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

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

Ms. Fernando struck upon the premise of her research after joining some Sri Lankan naturalists to document the flora and fauna of the Gulf of Mannar, which once constituted the British Crown’s richest pearling grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The county, local agencies, utilities and property owners are in a constant battle with the flora and fauna just beyond fencelines and backyards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

The government insists it has met all "green" requirements and has pledged to protect Great Nicobar's peoples, communities, as well as its unique flora and fauna, by establishing protected zones.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

Ma glances at the lush tropical landscape and concludes, “This must be the Mesozoic era. Jurassic or Cretaceous period, I’d say, judging from the flora and fauna. What do you think, Jax?”

From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott

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

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

The Forgotten Flora project was started three years ago with the goal of reviving threatened plants in North Yorkshire and has led to the planting of thousands of lesser-known wildflower species.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

But the wind-up alarm clock won’t disappear entirely, says Bill Stoddard, who repairs and sells clocks at his shop in Flora, Ind. After all, he points out, “the Amish people buy clocks.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

If it were, Mrs. Maroney would have pressed it selfishly to her chest like Flora clinging to my bag of lemon drops.

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

Geology, je-ol′o-ji, n. the science relating to the history and development of the earth's crust, together with the several floras and faunas which have successively clothed and peopled its surface.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Not uncommonly, the exotic floras differ from ours, not merely in respect of the species, but also of the genera of Gasteromycetes.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt) Cooke

This would be important, especially in countries where the flora has been treated by some resident botanist, and the kinds and species proper to these local floras should, if possible, be obtained.

From Movement of the International Literary Exchanges, between France and North America from January 1845 to May, 1846 With Instructions for Collecting, Preparing, and Forwarding Objects of Natural History Written by The Professors Administrators of The Museum Of Natural History At Paris. And Instructions Relative to Anthropology and Zoology by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire

On the whole, there seems to be less difference between the floras of Arctic and temperate latitudes in Upper Cretaceous than in Miocene times.

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

Related Words

• vegetation