Name:
Casasia clusiifolia - Guapira discolor - Pithecellobium keyense - Metopium toxiferum / Solanum bahamense / Hymenocallis latifolia Forest
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
These are diverse hammock forests of the Florida Keys, developed not on consolidated rock, but on storm-deposited shell hash of biogenic origin, consisting of limestone sand, shell, and calcareous algal fragments. They are variable in height, from 3 m or less on the coastal edge, to 8 m, but are most typically 5-7 m tall. The canopy and subcanopy are diverse, consisting most frequently of mixtures of Guapira discolor, Eugenia foetida, Metopium toxiferum, Pithecellobium keyense, Casasia clusiifolia, Suriana maritima, Conocarpus erectus, Bursera simaruba, Coccoloba uvifera, Eugenia axillaris, Coccothrinax argentata, Reynosia septentrionalis, Sideroxylon celastrinum (= Bumelia celastrina), Piscidia piscipula, Erithalis fruticosa, and the exotic Casuarina equisetifolia. Frequent shorter shrubs and herbs include various species associated with coastal dunes and other shore-associated habitats: Lantana involucrata, Solanum bahamense, Hymenocallis latifolia, Lasiacis divaricata, Alternanthera maritima, Opuntia stricta, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Suaeda linearis. These forests can be distinguished from Rockland Hammocks [see I.A.3.N.a Metopium toxiferum - Eugenia foetida Forest Alliance (A.38)] by the usual presence and abundance of species such as Casasia clusiifolia, Suriana maritima, and Guapira discolor, the frequent presence of shoreline shrubs and herbs [see above], the shoreline landscape position, and the unconsolidated substrate.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.21686.CASASIACLUSIIFO
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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