A hammock is a localized mature hardwood forest. A hardwood forest is distinguished by a prevalence of broad-leaved trees, as opposed to pines, which normally have softer wood. In south Florida, hammocks occur in marshes, pinelands, mangrove swamps, and the interiors of some wetland tree islands. In order for hammocks to exist, the ground surface must be high enough that seasonal flooding does not occur. |
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Hammocks sometimes occur as tree islands in Everglades marshes, but they are in marked distinction to the wetland tree islands, which are dominated by a temperate swamp flora. In the northern Everglades region, hammocks may be dominated by trees of temperate climate origin such as the live oak or hackleberry, and the occurrence of tropical trees is much more restricted. From the latitude of Miami southward, however, nearly all the trees are of tropical origin. For this reason, the term tropical hardwood hammock is used for any such hammock.
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