flora

Etymology

From Latin Flōra (goddess of flowers).

noun

1. Plants considered as a group, especially those of a particular country, region, time, etc.
2. A book describing the plants of a country, region, time, etc.
   He intended to publish a flora of the island, and drafted out a synonymic catalogue, into which he inserted from time to time elaborate descriptions drawn up from living specimens of the species which he was able to procure. 1999, J. G. Baker, Flora of Mauritius and the Seychelles
   Nowhere was the victory of Linnaeanism more complete than in Britain. When William Hudson's Flora Anglica, organized in the Linnaean manner, appeared in 1762, it displaced all previous floras. 2000, Daniel R. Headrick, When Information Came of Age, page 26
3. The microorganisms that inhabit some part of the body.
   gut flora, intestinal flora
   1920, Robert L. Tweed, A Study of the Effect of Milk Upon the Bacterial Flora of the Intestinal Tract:
   1947, Adelaide Evangeline Evenson, The Intestinal Flora of Laboratory Animals and Its Modification by Diet and Drugs:
   1977, Betty H. K. Dee, The Aerobic Bacterial Flora of the Intestinal Tract of Marine Fishes:
   The host effects upon the flora of both the small intestine and the large intestine must be examined. 1977, United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, page 191
   Approximately 3% of healthy adults harbor C. difficile in the intestinal tract. […] In contrast, the flora of the cecum is predominantly gram negative, with Bacteroides and Selenomonas being the major constituents. 2003-12-11, Moselio Schaechter, Desk Encyclopedia of Microbiology, Elsevier, page 520
   […] Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, Bifidobacterium, Eubacterium, Peptococcus, Peptostreptococcus, Bacteroides and Spirochetes that characterize the flora of the large intestine. 2013-03-31, Chetana Vaishnavi, Infections of the Gastrointestinal System, JP Medical Ltd, page 5