GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 20/ 



Open flatzvoods (fig. 23). In Georgia, Alabama and Missis- 

 sippi the term "flatwoods" is commonly applied to rather dense 

 hardwood forests on damp clayey soils, but in Florida it always 

 means level forests of long-leaf or slash pine. Most of our flat- 

 woods have a dense undergrowth of saw-palmetto or other shrubs, 

 but in the western edge of the lake region in Marion County, and in 

 some places in the southwestern flatwoods region, particularly in 

 Pasco County and near the Peace River, the shrubs are scarce or 

 absent, presumably indicating a better or at least a finer-grained 

 soil than usual. And all through the eastern flatwoods there are 

 patches an acre or so in extent which have little or no palmetto, 

 and some herbs, such as the pitcher-plant, are very characteristic of 

 such places. This latter phase is usually a little damper than the 

 rest, and might be regarded as an approach to the shallow prairies 

 already described. 



Palmetto flatzuoods. These are of two or three kinds, depend- 

 ing on which species of pine predominates, but all have much the 

 same aspect : tall pines with very few other trees, and a dense 

 shrubby undergrowth from knee-high to waist-high, consisting 

 mostly of saw-palmetto and other evergreens. There are also many 

 herbs partly hidden by the shrubs. This type covers the greater 

 part of the three flatwoods regions and the Gulf hammock region, 

 and occurs in all the others, with the possible exception of the west 

 coast islands and the hammock belts. The pine is usually long-leaf, 

 but near the coast and near the larger prairies, especially if the 

 soil is a little calcareous, it may be completely replaced by slash pine 

 (Piniis Caribaea). In a few damp spots in the eastern half of the 

 area black pine {P. serotina) predominates. The characteristic 

 plants of the flatwoods of Marion and Sumter Counties were listed 

 in the Seventh Annual Report, pp. 144-146. 



Fire sweeps through the flatwoods every year or two, but does 

 not injure the pines unless they are very small or have been turpen- 

 tined, and the palmettos soon send up a new crop of leaves from 

 their thick creeping stems. The pines are an important source of 

 lumber and turpentine, some of the shrubs yield honey, and the 

 herbage affords pasturage for many cattle. On account of the rather 

 damp soil, and the difficulty of grubl):'ng out the palmetto and other 

 shrubs, the farmers have encroached on the flatwoods very little, 



