How to build your world: Flora

So, I’m back with my World Building series.   So far, I’ve discussed topics such as water, atmosphere, sun, seasons and land so now let’s get to some of those living organisms.

Today’s topic is Flora.  (That would be plants)

banner world builder series: how to build your world: flora

Flora in your World

Now as writers we need to set the scene.  Fantasy and sci-fi writers especially need to create their worlds with depth and texture that pulls the reader in.

If we are setting the stage in a whole new world, then we cannot expect the reader to automatically know how it will look, feel, smell…

However let’s remember that while we will be building up a (hopefully not too mammoth) Encyclopedia, that does not mean we need a full book on each topic. When you think of your world’s flora, don’t create and describe thousands of plants.

Earth is bristling with plant life – from tiny flowers to towering trees. According to the Botanical Gardens Conservation International website:


So, unless your world is a barren desert or an arctic tundra world, let’s just take it as red that you’ve got a lot of plants.

Types of Plants

We currently categorise flora in three ways:

Native: These are the plants that are native to the area. For example the English Oak is native to Britain (and indeed is our most common tree species).

Agricultural and Horticultural: These are the plants that humans have purposefully planted for food (agriculture) and for our gardens (horticulture).

Weeds: These are the plants considered to be pests such as invasive species. They are undesired and can often be non-native species that cause issues for native species.

So when thinking of your plant life, maybe use this as a way of categorising your species.

What to Catalogue

Since we are not creating every plant species in this new world we have built, how do we decide what to create?

Simple – the plants must be used in your novel.

As part of the description – for example: when your characters walk through a dense forest.

As food and drink – for example: showing a village turning their grapes into wine that is to be sent to the palace

As medicine – for example: a wise woman in your town who ventures up the mountain path to retrieve a rare herb used to drawing out infection from a wound.

These are just a few examples and can help to develop texture in your world. The rule of thumb is don’t create any plants you won’t mention somewhere in your novel. There is no point having pages of Flora Documentation if none of it is even briefly touched upon.

Things To Think About When Creating Flora

When you start thinking about your flora, do so individually with each one. Decide on it’s category (native, argi/horti, weed) and it’s type (tree, bush, flower etc) then consider these:

Name: Give your plant a name

Description: You need to have an idea of how this plant looks. Long stem? Wide leaves? Does it flower? Does it climb walls or send out creepers? Is it a dense bush or a single flower?

Growing method: Is it perennial or annual. Annuals are plants with a short life cycle, last only one year. They grow, bloom, usually with beautiful colourful flowers, they produce seeds and die.

They then need to be replanted. Perennials they live longer than 2 years, continue each year until they reach maturity.

Region/Climate: Does your plant only grow in a certain regions? What type of climate does this plant grow in?  Does it thrive in hot dry climates or maybe prefers wet boggy climates. Plants are developed to survive in their native land – take for example predatory plants like the Venus fly trap – they live in places with low nutrients in the soil so instead gain their nutrients from catching and devouring insects.

Uses: Is it for eating like fruit or vegetables? Maybe for cooking, like spices and herbs. What does it taste like? Is it bitter, sweet, bland? Is it medicinal, can it be chewed for relieving headaches like willow bark or just rubbed on skin abrasions?

Maybe it’s poisonous (though most poisonous plants can kill or sicken some species but not others). Can it be used for making rope or clothes for example hemp can be used for this.  Is it grown for animal feed?

Maybe used to make canoes like some trees. Are they used for decoration? Think mistletoe at Christmas.

How about a narcotic? Is it used to reach a spiritual plane? Taken as a recreational pleasure? An addiction?

Once you know where in your world these plants grow, why they grow there, what they are used for… then you can get them working for you in your story.

I have FINALLY managed to create some printable templates! So here’s the first, a free editable template for your World Building folder.

Free Editable Template: Flora Template

More articles on my World Builder Series.


I was originally going to make this post about Flora (plants) and Fauna (animals) however I thought it best to split it over two posts.  Next week’s post will cover Fauna (as it’s partly written already so hopefully no delays).

There is a guest post coming up on Tuesday, so watch out for that 🙂 Thanks to all my awesome followers and for all the lovely comments I’ve been receiving recently. It’s nice meeting so many new people.


Happy writing


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3 thoughts on “How to build your world: Flora

  1. Pingback: How to build your world: Habitat | Ari Meghlen – Writer | Blogger | Bad card player

  2. Pingback: How to build your world: Fauna | Ari Meghlen – Writer | Blogger | Bad card player

  3. Pingback: World Building: Fauna | The official site of Ari Meghlen

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