SOIL SURVEY OF THE OCALA AREA, FLORIDA. 
209 
There is a deep mantle of superficial sands overlying most of the 
area, except the high hammocks, from which it may have been 
eroded, if, indeed, it ever covered them.* The superficial sands fall 
into three series—Portsmouth, Leon, and Norfolk. These occupy 
low-lying flatwoods to undulating and rolling higher lands. The 
Portsmouth and Leon soils occupy low-lying to depressed, poorly 
drained areas, mostly bordering bodies of Swamp. The Portsmouth 
soils are situated slightly above the Swamp. Existing under poorly 
drained conditions, organic matter has accumulated in the soil. 
They are black in the surface portion and rich in organic matter, in 
part rather mucky. The subsoils are light-colored gray to mottled 
gray and yellow. These soils are in an acid condition and need 
liming before being suitable for most cultivated crops. They make 
excellent trucking soils when drained. Two types of the Ports¬ 
mouth series were mapped, the sand and fine sand. 
The Leon soils comprise the “palmetto flatwoods.” They are 
only slightly elevated above the Portsmouth, but while wet a part 
of the year they are very dry at other times. These are gray to 
nearly white soils of low organic matter in the surface portion ex¬ 
cept occasionally in the upper inch or two. Usually within about 
2 feet of the surface a brown or dark-brown layer of sand, locally 
known as hardpan, is encountered. The brownish color and com¬ 
pact nature of this layer seem to be due to the presence of both or¬ 
ganic matter and iron compounds. When wet this substratum is 
easily penetrated, but when it dries out it becomes compact and re¬ 
sists penetration by plant roots and moisture. It is believed to pre¬ 
vent the rise of capillary water, hence the droughty nature of the 
surface soil. This hardpan occurs near the top layer of the water 
table. The Leon sand and fine sand were mapped. Each of these 
includes a hammock phase supporting a hardwood growth. The 
soil of the hammock areas, however, does not differ from the aver¬ 
age, except that the hardpan substratum is deeper or entirely ab¬ 
sent. There is also a “pond” phase representing what is known as 
sand ponds. Water does not remain long in these. Dog fennel is 
the characteristic growth of such shallow ponds. 
The Norfolk soils, including the sand and fine sand, lie high and 
*These sands are now referred to the Pleistocene period. Heretofore they 
have been regarded entirely as marine sedimentary deposits of the Pleistocene, 
reworked by water or by the wind. There is said to be evidence that the material 
is residual. See State Geological Survey reports of Florida. 
