Flowering Plants Native to Southeastern Louisiana

Scarlet Buckeye

• The scarlet buckeye (Aesculus pavia) is a small tree that grows to 40 feet in well-drained sites as well as wetlands in Louisiana. The leaves are compound leaves with each having three, five or seven leaflets. The flowers are tubular and pink followed by round seed husks containing one to three hard round red seeds.

White Wild Indigo

• White wild indigo (Baptisia alba) is a perennial that dies to the ground in winter even in warm locations. In spring, large shoots appear then branch out as the season progresses. It is considered drought tolerant when established. The 12-to 18-inch flower stalks produced in late spring are covered with white flowers followed by large pea-like seed pods.

Evening Rain Lily

• The evening rain lily (Cooperia drummondii) is a bulbing plant native to wet moist regions of Louisiana. The single six-petaled flowers appear on top of 12-inch-tall stems one or two days after a rain. It is most likely to be seen blooming in southeast Louisiana in late summer to fall. Some gardeners plant the bulbs in their lawns and allow them to multiply and bloom after a rain. They can be mowed after the flowers fade.

Coastal Water-Hyssop

• Coastal water-hyssop or water hyssop (Bacopa monnieri) is a low-growing perennial related to snapdragons found in moist acidic soils throughout southeastern Louisiana. It grows best where the soil is periodically flooded, such as coastal wetlands. The leaves are bright green and succulent and the five-petaled flowers are white. Coastal water-hyssop forms thick mats growing to 1 foot tall.

Louisiana Iris

• The Louisiana iris (Iris giganticaerulea) is the state flower of Louisiana. The blue and purple flowers with a yellow center are borne on long stems to 36 inches tall. The Louisiana iris grows in thick colonies in bogs and stream beds throughout Louisiana. It spreads by underground rhizomes. Louisiana iris grows in water as much as 6 inches deep and is a popular plant for water gardens throughout the South.