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 <i>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</i>, and the exotic <i>Casuarina equisetifolia</i>. Frequent shorter shrubs and herbs include various species associated with coastal dunes and other shore-associated habitats: <i>Lantana involucrata, Solanum bahamense, Hymenocallis latifolia, Lasiacis divaricata, Alternanthera maritima, Opuntia stricta, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Suaeda linearis</i>. These forests can be distinguished from Rockland Hammocks [see ~<i>Bursera simaruba - Coccoloba diversifolia - Eugenia axillaris</i> Forest Alliance (A2030)$$] by the usual presence and abundance of species such as <i>Casasia clusiifolia, Suriana maritima</i>, and <i>Guapira discolor</i>, the frequent presence of shoreline shrubs and herbs [see above], the shoreline landscape position, and the unconsolidated substrate.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.36221.CEGL007005
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
|
