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LuEsther T. Mertz Library
Plant & Research Guides

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Library Home Plant Help Research Support All Guides

Alabama Native Plant Society: Home

The Alabama Wildflower Society

According to their website The Alabama Wildflower Society has several local chapters focused on the spread of knowledge and preservation of native plants. The Society meets for lectures, walks, tours, and organizes planting events in different locations throughout Alabama during the year.

An Alabama Native

A Close-up of the Hymenocallis coronaria, Cahaba Lily
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Altairisfar

A Close-up of the Hymenocallis coronaria, Cahaba Lily, a member of the amaryllis family. This lily requires a very specialized habitat—swift-flowing water over rocks and lots of sun—and thus is restricted to shoal areas at or above the fall line. You can search the Alabama Plant Atlas below to find out where you can see this showy plant.

Recommended Reading

The NYBG Mertz library has over 500 holdings covering  Alabama’s flora from flowers to forests and features an array of topics from agriculture to a large collection of Alabama's Nursery Seed Catalogs. Here is a short list of books on the Native Plants of Alabama.

History of Alabama's Native Plant Societies

Blanche Evans Dean

Blanche Evans Dean

The history of native plant societies in Alabama can be traced back to Blanche Evans Dean (1894-1974), a self-taught botanist. Her tireless efforts in the fields of botany and conservation have made a significant and lasting contribution to the state of Alabama. She was a naturalist, teacher and founder of the Alabama Ornithological Society, the Alabama Wildlife Society, and the Alabama Conservancy. Discouraged by the lack of reference books available on the flora and fauna of Alabama she decided to publish some herself. These books are still considered essential tools for field botanists in Alabama. Image Courtesy of the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.