A Tour Guides View of Hardwood Hammocks

By: Glenn Wilsey, Sr.

Hardwood hammock As you look across the everglades you will see wide open sawgrass prairies with large islands of trees. These large islands of trees are called hardwood hammocks. The word hammock is an Indian word that means land above water or garden place. The hammock is about the only place you will be able to find dry land. Only about 5 % to 10% of the hammock is sticking above the water. Dry land is vary important to the animals. The animals must get out of the water to dry their feet and to give birth. Different plants and grasses grow on the hammocks, than that grows on the open grass prairies. ,The animals need the plants that grow on prairies and the plants that grow the hammocks for an even diet.

There are a few ways that hardwood hammocks are formed. The first hammocks to form, formed on coral upcropings that grew while the southern half of florida was still under water. Now these coral upcropings are nothing more than coral rock piles on the very northern end of some of these hammocks. Some of the hammocks were formed by our prehistoric friends, the alligator. During our drought season (every 4 to 7 years ) as the water starts to drop, an alligator will start to dig down to keep up with the falling water tables. As the alligator digs, he piles the mud around his hole. Some -times the mud can be piled up as high as 2 or 3 feet. Now, as the water tables start rising back up in June and July, the rim of the alligator hole will be sticking up higher than the water table. Small plants and trees have a fertile and dry place to take root. As the years go by, the plants and trees will grow. They drop leaves and branches that will sink to the bottom, slowly building upwards until they reach the surface. It doesn't stop there! The leaves and branches keep building up, decomposing, building up and decomposing until there is an island. Another way a hammock can form is by an alligator building a nest. Because the female alligator piles up grass higher than the water level the decomposing cycle will start again building another island. A hammock can start as easy as a tree growing in the water. One tree can take root in the river. As the tree grows higher it will also grow wider and make an eddy on the back side of the tree, giving other trees a chance to take root and starting the island growing cycle all over again.

The first trees that start the hammock will mainly be made up of the smaller trees. These trees like to grow in the water. Willow trees, Sweet bay, Custard apple, Wax myrtle will lead in the early stage of the building of the hammock. Other plants that help the building process are Leather ferns, Shielded ferns, and Boston ferns. Saw grass, needle grass and countless other kinds of plants that help the building process.

Once the building process makes a small piece of dry island, then all the hardwood types of trees can take root. These trees are Gumbo limbo trees, oak trees, Slash pines, Coco plum, and Cabbage palms. Now that there is an island, all of the birds and animals will take advantage of the dry land. The birds will use the tall trees to roost in and also to nest in. Most of the birds like to walk around on the ground, foraging for food and find building materials for their nests. Turtles have to get out of the water and onto dry land to lay there eggs and to warm there body. They also get out to dry the algae off their shells and dry up any leeches off of any exposed areas on their bodies. The animals must get out of the water to dry there feet, sleep and give birth. The hardwood hammock is a very important essential part of the river of grass.

The everglades is very big part of my life and it’s very important to me as a naturalist that we do are best to keep it as natural as possible. In my stories you may here me refer to myself as a common man not concerning myself with all of the scientific names of the plants and animals. But as a naturalist, I feel that I should do my very best to get out as much information to the public as possible. We have all heard it said that the pen is mightier than the sword, but now I think we can say that the Internet is mightier than the pen.

Now even a “COMMON” man, such as myself and others like me can be heard! Well once again, I must go, so until next month - NATURE RULES!!!!!
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