Hairy Bretonica - Melochia spicata

Hairy bretonica (Melochia spicata) is a mat-forming wildflower native to much of peninsular Florida in xeric sandy soils and in sunny locations. The above plant was photographed in Hendry County in a disturbed field dominated by ruderal plants. It also has been reported in Georgia and from various islands in the Caribbean - including Puerto Rico.  It is considered to be an annual in the northern parts of its range where temperatures dip below freezing, and a perennial elsewhere.
This plant can be more upright than the above photos indicate, but it tends to sprawl outwards over time, forming clumps more than 6 feet across and only 6-12 inches high. The stems and leaves are covered by a soft pubescence. Each leaf is characterized by a distinctly rippled edge as well. The leaves are about 1 inch long and are narrowly elongate in shape.
Flowers occur on stalks that stand above the foliage. Each stalk has multiple flowers along the stem on short flower stalks. The flowers are violet/pink in color with darker lines running the length of each petal. Blooming can occur throughout the year in frost-free locations. All members of this genus are excellent pollinator plants for bees and butterflies, and hairy bretonica is no exception.
Although the shrubby teabush (Melocia tomentosa) has become a popular native plant for Florida pollinator gardens, hairy bretonica has not been cultivated for that purpose and is not available from native plant nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries. This is a bit puzzling as this plant is not particularly fussy about growing conditions and provides color and nectar year-round. It should be easy to propagate from the ripe seed produced inside each mature capsule. This is not a plant, however, well-suited for a small mixed-species wildflower garden as it would need constant pruning.

Florida Feathershank - Schoenocaulon dubium

Florida feathershank (Schoenocaulon dubium) is a member of the Melanthium family and an easy wildflower to overlook when not in bloom. It also is endemic to peninsular Florida from Gilchrist and Alachua Counties in the north, south to Highlands, Palm Beach and Martin Counties. These photos were taken with my cell phone (sorry for the quality) in sandhill habitat in Hernando County. Throughout this range, it is found in the well-drained sandy soils of sandhill and scrub.
Florida feathershank is an evergreen perennial. It forms a basal rosette of very narrow elongated leaves that are noticeably channeled. Each is nearly 12 inches long and no more than 1/8 inch wide. Flowering occurs in late spring through mid-summer. The bluish green flower stalk rises up out of the basal leaves and reaches a mature height of 2-2 1/2 feet. The tiny flowers are produced along the upper portion of this stalk. The flowers lack petals. The yellowish stamens protrude from the sepals and give the appearance of the flowers being yellow.  It is this tall, thin flower stalk that makes this species noticeable among all of the other plants it's associated with.
Florida feathershank is an interesting plant with very limited use in a native plant landscape. I have never seen it offered for sale by any of Florida's native plant nurseries and it is unlikely to be offered in the future. Its diminutive size and lack of a striking flower stalk make this a true connoisseur's wildflower. Look for it in Late-May through July and admire it simply for its uniqueness.

 Basal leaves (the linear ones) among other understory plants

Yellow/Trumpet-leaved Pitcher Plant - Sarracenia flava

Yellow pitcher plant is one of the most widely distributed members of this amazing genus in Florida. Relatively common to low, boggy acidic savannas of the Florida Panhandle, it also is vouchered for Alachua, Baker and Hamilton Counties in the north-central peninsula.  It extends its natural range into the two states that border us and then occurs up the Southeastern Coastal Plain into New jersey, where it is rare. Throughout its range it is considered an obligate wetland plant.
Yellow pitcher plant is a robust deciduous species. The tall pitchers and the basal foliage die back to the ground each fall and reappear in early spring. The basal leaves are largely unnoticed in the savanna foliage, but the large modified leaf that comprises the pitcher grows quickly and reaches a mature height of 2-2 1/2 feet. As the above photos show, it is not uncommon to find individuals in populations that are distinctly red - growing with those that are pure yellow. These photos were taken in Apalachicola National Forest, near the town of Sumatra.
Flowers are similar in shape to others in this genus. They are in full bloom by early June and last a short time before maturing as a seed capsule.

Flower

Developing Seed Capsule

Pitcher plants, in general, fascinated a great many people and lead sometimes to a desire to poach plants for a home landscape. This, of course, should never be done. Pitcher plants are difficult for most gardeners as they require very specific soil and moisture conditions to thrive. If you can provide this unique bog situation, there are nurseries that propagate hybrids that seem more vigorous and less demanding than the species. Occasionally, a reputable nursery offers this and a few other species for sale also. If you are tempted, make sure that their plants are legally grown. In my mind, this species and its relatives are best admired in the wild.

Carolina Desertchickory - Pyrrhopappus caroliniensis

There are a great many plants here in Florida that are mistaken for dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) and this is one of them. Carolina desertchickory (Pyrrhopappus caroliniensis) may be a poor substitute name as well as it is neither a "chickory" nor does it occur in the "desert". It is, however, an annual member of the Asteraceae and found throughout the northern two-thirds of Florida in open disturbed sites such as roadways and fields. It also occurs in much of the same types of locations in the eastern half of the US, except the very northernmost line of states.
Carolina desertchickory makes its appearance in the spring as a basal rosette of lanceolate leaves, each about 5 inches long. Some leaves may be deeply lobed, especially near the base, but in others these lobes may be nearly absent. The plants photographed here have leaf margins that are essentially entire.
Flowering occurs in late spring through late summer. The flowers are produced on a flower stalk that stands up to 1 1/2 feet tall.  The flower heads are large and showy; measuring slightly more than 1 inch across and composed of many ray petals.  The typical color is a bright canary yellow, but lighter shades, such as in the middle photograph, are not uncommon. These flowers are of interest to small bees. Once pollination has occurred, the seed heads mature quickly into "dandelion"-type fluffy seed balls.  These are much larger than those found in dandelions and the seeds themselves may measure 1/8 inch in length. 
Roger Hammer reports that members of the Cherokee Nation used this plant medicinally as a blood "cleanser" and that its roots have also been eaten as a vegetable. Some caution, however, should be taken in eating wild plants for the first time.
Although I find this native wildflower to be quite attractive, its somewhat weedy nature and the fact that it is an annual make it a poor candidate for the horticulture industry. It is easy to propagate from seed, but it would need to be able to reseed into open soil to persist.

Seaside Primrosewillow - Ludwigia maritima

Despite its common and Latin names, seaside primrosewillow (Ludwigia maritima) is not restricted to coastal habitats and occurs throughout Florida in moist areas including wet prairies and pine flatwoods. These photographs were taken in a moist area within pine flatwoods in north Pinellas County. Seaside primrosewillow also occurs in much of the Southeastern Coastal Plain from Louisiana to North Carolina.

Florida has a great many native and nonnative primrose willows, making identification sometimes a bit difficult. This species reaches a height of about 2 1/2 feet and has a slender aspect with few side branches. The stems are reddish with coarse hairs and the leaves are willow-like, alternate on the stem, and several inches long. It is perennial, but typically dies back to the ground in winter and re-emerges in early spring. 

Blooming occurs from late spring through late fall. Like most species in this genus, the flowers are composed of 4 bright yellow petals. Each petal is quite rounded and the entire flower is about 1 inch across. They occur in the axils of the stem and seem to be of special interest to bees - especially bumblebees. Once the flowers are pollinated, the decidedly rounded seed capsules form. 

Primrose willows as a group often seem to get a bad rap due to their highly invasive relative Peruvian primrose willow (L. peruviana). This is a shame as many of our native species are well behaved and attractive in their own right. I think seaside primrosewillow is definitely one of the handsomest. It would be easy to propagate from seed collected after the seed capsules turn brown. 

Tread softly - Cnidoscolus stimulosus

The many stinging hairs are obvious on this leaf

Tread softly, aka stinging nettle, (Cnidoscolus stimulosus) is a common wildflower in open habitats throughout Florida and in much of the Southeast. It forms a low mass of vegetation that normally does not exceed 8-12 inches in height and about the same in width. It is a perennial that remains green in the central and southern thirds of Florida, but dies back to the ground in areas with hard freezes. It is in the Euphorbia family, but unlike many, has showy petals and is monoecious.
Tread softly has leaves with deeply dissected lobes. They somewhat resemble maple leaves in aspect, but the surface is covered with stiff stinging hairs. Brushing against this plant, or worse - picking the flowers, will result in sharp pain that can last for hours. Like the true stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), these hairs are trigger loaded, and they are actually injected into its victim's skin. You can lessen the time your skin will burn by removing those hairs - which can be done by placing an adhesive tape on the spot of contact and pulling the tape up.
Though this is not a wildflower one should consider adding to a landscape, it has beautiful white fragrant flowers and it remains in bloom throughout the frost-free months. The flowers have 5 petals with a deep inner tube that holds nectar and attracts butterflies. Each bloom is about 1/2 inch wide.
This is a wildflower you should learn and respect when outdoors hiking. Then admire it from a short distance.

Meadow Garlic - Allium canadense

Meadow garlic (Allium canadense) is a perennial herb that is found throughout north and central Florida in open habitats ranging from pine savannas to disturbed fields. It also is found throughout the eastern US from North Dakota in the north to Texas. A member of the amarillis family, it grows from a bulb and produces its fragrant foliage in a whorl from it. Meadow garlic makes its appearance in the spring and tends to die back to the ground after it blooms and produces its tiny bulblets in the summer.
The foliage consists of succulent strap-like leaves that resemble those of its common garden relatives - onions, garlic and chives to name a few. Like its relatives, these leaves give off a strong odor of garlic, especially when crushed, and can be used in cooking. The leaves are 6-12 inches long by maturity.
Flower stalks rise from the center of the plant in spring. The blooms range from a soft pink to bright white, like the ones in this photograph. They are visited by small bees and butterflies. Pollinated flowers produce seed heads containing tiny seeds. What makes this plant unique among most of our native wildflowers is that the flowers are surrounded by small bulbs that are produced vegetatively. These drop to the ground once the flower stalk is fully mature and produce new plants near the base of their parents. 
Meadow garlic is a fun plant to grow in a garden - especially in one devoted to permaculture. Plants require very little extra care and do well in most typical upland spoils and sunlight. Care must be taken, however, to mark the areas in which it is planted as it seems absent for about half the year. This wildflower is rarely offered for sale by members of FANN - the Association of Native Nurseries, but once acquired, it is easy to propagate. It also spreads over time if given a space where it is not disturbed too often.