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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

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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”

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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 trust's founder, Dr Margaret Bradshaw, said the group wanted to raise awareness of the fragility of special flora in the area.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Color lithographs of marine organisms drawn by the 19th-century zoologist Ernst Haeckel offer magical views of fantastically intricate flora and fauna—a huge influence on Ms. Van Herpen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 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

Thus, the high percentage of hermaphroditic selfers in the Fertile Crescent flora aided early farmers, because it meant that a high percentage of the wild flora had a reproductive biology convenient for humans.

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

"We cannot let this opportunity come and go when our planet's precious biodiversity is still being pummelled from all angles," said Catherine Weller from Fauna & Flora.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

The oncology team said the kindest route was to sedate Flora, but the palliative care team wanted to give the pain relief more time to take effect.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

On Saturday, Katie Taylor steps through the ropes at an 82,000-capacity Croke Park to face France's Flora Pili in her farewell fight.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 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

With Flora occupied with the cook’s children in the yard, Aunt Kitty and I were free to make our escape.

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

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

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

The forests are thus highly diversified and partake of the characteristics of both the northern and southern floras.

From North America by Israel C. (Cook) Russell

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

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Related Words

• vegetation

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