135 



K\ ERGLADE PLANTS 



Perhaps no part of Florida is better known by reputation 

 than the hundreds of thousands of acres of low, level, grass- 

 covered wet areas of southern Florida called the Everglades. 

 We have read how they have been drained for truck gardening 

 and of the fires which have rendered great sections useless by 

 destroying the soil down to the limestone. 



To the naturalist it is a fascinating region because of its 

 plant and animal life. Herons and other large marsh birds roam 



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A typical Everglade landscape showing a hammock. Near West Lake, west of 

 Royal Palm Hammock State Park. 



over the broad expanse in thousands. Snakes, turtles and 

 amphibia abound. The typical Everglade surface does not have 

 a varied plant life as few plants other than Saw-grass, Mariscus 

 jamaicensis , may be found over extensive areas. However, when 

 one considers the variety of habitat included in the whole 

 Everglade region, the number of species is very great. Many 

 species have come in along the drainage canals. 



Scattered through much of the area are slightly raised drier 

 sections, from a few to many acres in extent, known as ham- 

 mocks — sometimes called keys in the southern region. Indeed 



