Medicinal Plants Grown in Central Florida

While many know Florida best for its palm trees and hibiscus, the state offers a rich diversity of plant life, including several medicinal herbs, flowers and trees. Central Florida spans the USDA hardiness zones 9a and 9b and hosts many medicinal plants that are well-suited to temperate or subtropical environments. The area flora includes plants used by the original Native American inhabitants, by later European settlers and by modern Western medicine.

Red Maple

• The red maple (Acer rubrum) grows throughout Florida, thriving in woods and flatlands, in wetlands, forests and along riverbanks. While most maple syrup harvesters use the sugar maple (Acer saccharum), all maple trees, including the red, produce the sweet sap. Traditionally, Native Americans of the region used the red maple to treat a range of ailments including skin, liver and eye problems. The inner layers of the red maple bark acts as an astringent to relieve eye irritation. Drinking an infusion, made from boiling the bark, can relieve cramps and digestive problems including dysentery.

Potato Bean

• The potato bean, also known as the American groundnut (Apios americana), grows throughout Florida as well as much of the continental United States, stretching as far north as Nova Scotia. The potato bean plant has been used in contemporary medicine for cancer treatment. Historically, Native Americans and later waves of settlers have used the potato bean as food.

Witch Hazel

• Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) grows as a shrub or a low-growing tree all over the eastern United States, including central Florida. It grows best in bogs and marshlands and along riverbanks or floodplains. The plant is used medicinally for a wide range of applications, including hemorrhoid treatment, relief of insect bites and skin irritations and as an astringent. Native Americans first used the plant medicinally and European settlers adopted the established medical knowledge, extending its use to Europe. Distilled witch hazel, sold in liquid form, is derived from the dried leaves of the plant. The leaves, bark, branches and twigs all contain the volatile oil and can serve medicinally. Harvest is in autumn, before the yellow, string-like flowers appear.

Saw Palmetto

• A common sight in central Florida, the saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) offers relief from prostate gland problems and related urinary tract problems. The herbal remedy uses a dried form of the ripened berries of the plant. As the medicinal effect of the saw palmetto becomes more popularly recognized, its commercial production is increasing. The southeastern United States ships around 2,000 tons of saw palmetto berries to Europe annually for use as herbal supplements.