Big CypressSwamp

THE FLAMINGO AREA

An abundance of raccoons and otherpredatorsis not the only threat to survival of the loggerhead turtle. A major factor in its decline is the serious depletion of its nestinghabitat. Park visitors are prohibited from interfering with these reptiles.Cape Sable beach is today virtually the only wild beach in South Florida, thanks to its inclusion inEvergladesNational Park. At present, visitors can reach it only by boat. But it would be foolhardy to take it for granted that the beach will remain unspoiled. Its potential as an attraction is such that someone not ecologically aware might believe that access for motorists would be an improvement. Roads, however, would bring increased pressure on the ecosystem by large numbers of visitors, and demands for further development, for lodging, meals, and other services seem always to go with automobiles. With continued protection from such encroachments, Cape Sable Beach will remain a unique wilderness resource and will not become just another recreational facility.

Merging with the beach is the coastal prairie, an ecosystem supporting red and blackmangroves, grasses, and other plants tolerant of the very saltyenvironment. Hardwoodhammockshave developed here on Indian shell mounds, but the trees are stunted by the saline soils. Though there is no lack of water on the cape, much of the region appears arid because hurricane-lashed tides have deposited soils ofmarland debris so salt-laden that only sparse vegetation develops.

To the west of the great fresh-watermarshcalled theeverglades, lying almost entirely outside the park, is an ecosystem vitally linked to the park. Big CypressSwampis a vast, shallow basin that includes practically all of Collier County. It is commonly called “The Big Cypress”—not because of the size of its trees, but because of its extent. Most of the baldcypresses (which are not true cypresses) are small trees, growing in open to dense stands throughout the area. The swamp is watered by about 50 inches of annual rainfall, the runoff from which flows as a sheet and insloughssouth and west to meet the coastal strip ofmangrovesand low sand dunes.

Big Cypress is speckled with lowlimestoneoutcrops, cut with shallowsloughs1 to 2 feet deep, and dotted with ponds and wet prairies. As in theeverglades, fire and water maintain the character of the plantlife in this swampy realm of sunlight and shadow. Also as in the everglades, a difference of a few inches in elevation creates differentcommunities. Tropical hardwoodhammocksgrow on rocky outcrops. In the depressions arise bayheads and clumps of pond apple, pop ash, and willow. The larger baldcypress trees grow in shallow sloughs, which are usually surrounded by prairies of sawgrass and maiden cane growing on slightly higher land. Although the several different plant communities resemble those in the glades, they support slightly different plants, because of the sandy soil (there being more quartz in the limestone under Big Cypress than in the park).

These baldcypresses, many measuring 3 to 6 feet in diameter, were heavily lumbered from 1930 to 1950. Today, few giant trees survive, but a sizable stand exists on the Norris Tract—so named for its conservation-minded donor—which forms the nucleus of CorkscrewSwampSanctuary. Here, protected by the National Audubon Society, are baldcypresses 130 feet tall; some have a girthof 25 feet! A boardwalk more than one-half mile long enables you to enjoy the beauty of this wild preserve without getting your feet wet.

CYPRESS STRAND

Large stands of baldcypress, called “strands,” support smallcommunitiessuch as ponds, prairies, and tropicalhammocks. One such hammock is famous for the finest stand of royal palms remaining in south Florida. The largest cypress strand—the Fakahatchee—extends some 23 miles north and south a few miles east of Naples.

Big CypressSwampis the home of wild turkey, bobcat, deer, and an occasional Florida panther. Thefish-eating otter plays in its waterways. Most of the birds found in theevergladesalso are found in the trees and waterways of Big Cypress, because the swamp has an abundance of food. The area is so rich in wildlife and edible plants that the Seminole Indians formerly lived entirely off its products.

BOBCATWHITE-TAILED DEEROTTER

The eastern edge of the bigswampand its importance toEvergladesNational Park came to worldwide attention in 1969 when it was selected as the site for the proposed Miami International Jetport. According to plans, this was to be the biggest airport in the world, covering 39 square miles and handling 65 million passengers a year. Millions of persons were expected to make their home in and around the jetport. Such a threat to the national park, into which the waters of Big Cypress partly drain, provoked protest letters from all over the world. Most writers objected on the grounds that Everglades belongs to all and that a jetport here would seal the doom of the park. Congress acted in 1974 by establishing Big Cypress National Preserve to help protect the water supply to Everglades National Park.

To knowEverglades, you must become acquainted with some of its diversecommunities. The physical conditions determining the existence of a particular community may seem subtle—just a few inches difference in elevation, or an accumulation ofpeatin a depression in thelimestonebedrock, for example. But often, the change in your surroundings as you step from one community to another is startling—for it is abrupt and complete. In Everglades, the dividing line between twohabitatsmay separate an almost entirely different association of plants and animals.

Use the trails that have been laid out to help you see thecommunities. They make access easy for you; the rest is up to you. Be observant: notice the stemlike root of a saw-palmetto in a damp pothole of the pineland; look closely at the periphyton that plays such an important role in the gladesfood chain. Note the difference in feeding methods of wading birds; each species has its own niche in thehabitat. Most of all, get into the habit of thinking of each animal, each plant, as a member of the closely woven web of life that makes up an integrated community.

Generally, in south Florida, hardwoodhammocksdevelop only in areas protected from fire, flood, and saline waters. The land must be high enough (1 to 3 feet above surrounding levels) to stand above the water that covers the glades much of the year. The roots of the trees must be out of the water and must have adequate aeration. In the park, these conditions prevail on thelimestone“ridge” (elevation of which ranges from 3 to 7 feet above sea level) and some spots in the glades region. On the limestone ridge, in areas bypassed by fires for a long period, hammocks have developed. Pines grow in the surrounding areas, where repeated fires have held back the hardwoods.

The moats that tend to form around gladeshammocks, as acids from decaying plant materials dissolve thelimestone, hold water even during the dry season; the moats thus act as barriers protecting the hammock vegetation from glades fires.

When the white man took over southern Florida, thesehammockswere luxuriant jungle islands dominated by towering tropical hardwoods and palms. Stumps and logs on the floors of some of the remaining hammocks, attesting to the enormous size of some of the earlier trees, are sad reminders of the former grandeur of the hammocks. While most of south Florida’s hammocks have been destroyed, you can still see some fine ones protected in the park. At Royal Palm Hammock, near park headquarters, Gumbo Limbo Trail winds through a dim, dense forest with welcome coolness on a hot day.

Stepping into a junglehammockfrom either the sunbathed glades or the open pine forest is a sudden, dramatic change. The contrast when you enter Gumbo Limbo Trail immediately after walking the Anhinga Trail is striking. While the watery world of Anhinga is dominated by a noisy profusion of wildlife, theenvironmentof Gumbo Limbo willseem to be a mere tangle of vegetation. But the jungle hammock, too, has itscommunityof animals—even though you may notice none but mosquitoes. Many of its denizens are nocturnal in their habits, but if you remain alert you will observe birds, invertebrates, and perhaps a lizard.

TREE SNAILSThere are 52 color forms ofLiguus fasciatusfound in south Florida.

Liguus fasciatus pseudopictus

Liguus fasciatus pictus

Liguus fasciatus ornatus

The trees that envelop you as you walk on Gumbo Limbo Trail are mostly tropical species; of the dominant trees, only the live oak (which grows as far north as Virginia) can be considered non-tropical. Under oaks and tropical bustics, poisonwood, mastics, and gumbo-limbos grow small trees such as tetrazygia, rough-leaf velvetseed, and wild coffee, a multitude of mosses and ferns, and only a few species of shade-tolerant flowering plants. Orchids and air plants burst like sun stars from limbs, trunks, and fallen logs. Twining among them all, the woody vines called lianas enhance the jungle atmosphere. Adding a final touch are the royal palms that here and there tower over the hardwood canopy—occasionally reaching 125 feet.

TROPICAL HARDWOODHAMMOCK

Thelimestonerock that underlies the entire park is porous and soluble; consequently the floor of thehammockis pitted with solution holes dissolved by the acid from decaying vegetation. Soil andpeataccumulating in the water-filled bottom of one of these holes supports a plantcommunityof its own: perhaps a pond apple, surrounded by ferns and mosses (including some varieties that seem to be limited to this potholeenvironment).

A dead, decaying log on the ground may support another miniature plantcommunity—a carpet of mosses, ferns, and other small plants that thrive in such moist situations.

Strangest of thehammockplants is the strangler fig, which first gets a foothold in the rough bark of a live oak, cabbage palm, or other tree. It then sends roots down to the ground, entwining about the host tree as it grows, and eventually killing it. On the Gumbo Limbo Trail you will see a strangler fig that grew in this manner and was enmeshed by another strangler fig—which now isthreatenedby a third fig that already has gained a foothold in its branches.

Best known of the gladeshammocksis Mahogany Hammock. A boardwalk trail in this lush, jungleliketree islandleads past the giant mahogany tree for which the hammock was named—now, because of Hurricane Donna, a dismembered giant. This fine tree island was explored only after the park was established.

An array of large and small vertebrate animals, mostly representative of the Temperate Zone, populates these tropical hardwood jungles: raccoons and opossums, many varieties of birds, snakes and lizards, tree frogs, even bobcats and the rare Florida panther, or cougar. Not surprisingly, invertebrates—including insects and snails—abound in this luxuriant plantcommunity. The tropical influence is evident in the presence of invertebrates such as tree snails of the genusLiguus, known outside of Florida only in Hispaniola and Cuba.

Standing out conspicuously on the glades landscape are tall, domelike tree islands of baldcypress. Unlikehammocks, which occupy elevations, cypress heads, or domes, occupy depressions in thelimestonebedrock—areas that remain as ponds or wet places during seasons when the glades dry up. Water-loving cypresses need only a thin accumulation ofpeatand soil to begin their growth in these depressions or in smaller solution holes in the limestone.

Cypress head

TURKEY VULTURE

Though most conifers retain their needles all year, baldcypresses shed their foliage in winter. The fallen needles decay, forming acids that dissolve thelimestonefurther; thus these trees tend to enlarge their own ponds. Since the pond is deeper in the middle, and the accumulation ofpeatis greater there, the taller trees grow in the center of the head, with the smaller ones toward the edge. Hence the characteristic dome-shaped profile.

Usually when fire sweeps the glades, the baldcypresses, occupying low, wet spots, are not injured. But with extended drought, the water disappears and thepeatmay burn for months, killing all the baldcypresses.

The cypress heads sometimes serve as alligator holes, where the big reptiles and other aquatic animals are able to survive dry periods. As you drive along the park road, stop and examine these tree islands through your binoculars; they are favored haunts of many of the park’s larger wadingbirds. Look for herons, egrets, wood storks, and white ibis, which visit these swampyhabitatsto feed on the abundant aquatic life.

Bald eagles find the tops of the tallest cypresses advantageous perches from which to scan themarsh. And at night certain of the cypress heads are “buzzard roosts”—resting areas for gatherings of hundreds of turkey vultures.

Bayhead

Many of the tree islands in the fresh-water glades are of the type called bayhead. Growing in depressions in thelimestoneor from beds ofpeatbuilt up on the bedrock, these plantcommunitiescontain a variety of trees, includingswampholly, redbay, sweetbay, wax myrtle, and cocoplum. Some of them, on the fringes of the brackish zone, are marked by clumps of graceful paurotis palms growing at their edges.

Like the hardwoodhammocksin the pinelands, bayheads are prevented from taking over the entire glades ecosystem by the dry-season fires that sweep the region at irregular intervals. The fires do not always affect the bayheads. A moat, formed by the dissolving action of acids from decaying plant materials on thelimestone, may surround thetree island, providing some protection from fire. Wildlife concentrates in these moats during the dry season. Birds congregate here to harvest the fish, snails, and other aquatic life—and occasionally themselves fall prey to lurking alligators.

Willows pioneer new territories and create anenvironmentthat enables other plants to gain a foothold. Their windblown seeds usually root in sunny land opened by fire and agriculture. Since these trees require a great quantity of water, the solution holes in the glades are favorable sites. Seedlings grow, leaves fall, and stems and twigs die and drop—contributing to the formation ofpeat. When this builds up close to or above the surface of the water, it provides ahabitatfor other trees such as sweet bay and cocoplum; with enough of these the willow head changes character and becomes a bayhead.

Years ago, when alligators were plentiful, they weeded the willow-bordered solution holes, keeping them open. Consequently, the willow heads were typically donut-shaped. Today, however, alligators are scarce and many of the willow heads have no ’gators. The solution holes fill with muck andpeat; relatively tall willows rise out of the deep, peat-filled centers, with increasingly smaller ones toward the less fertile edges, and the willow heads take on the characteristic dome-shaped profile but not nearly the height of the cypress domes. They have a clumpy, brushy appearance, seeming to grow right out of themarshwithout trunks.

POMACEA SNAIL—The sole food of theevergladekite

EVERGLADEKITE

Willow heads with alligator holes typically have a doughnut shape—the gator hole representing the hole in the doughnut.

Willow heads that do have alligator holes have a seasonal concentration of aquatic animals and the birds and mammals that prey upon them. They rarely support orchids orbromeliads, for the bark of the southern willow is too smooth to provide anchorage for the seedlings of these plants.

During drought periods willow heads, like bayheads, are vulnerable to the fires that sometimes burn over the glades.

Around the stems and other underwater parts of the glades plants are cylindrical masses of yellowish-greenperiphyton. So incredibly abundant are these masses of living material that in late summer the water appears as though clogged with mossy-looking sausages and floating pancakes. Largelyalgae, but containing perhaps 100 different organisms, the periphyton supports a complex web of glades life. It is the beginning of many food chains in the fresh-watermarsh. The larvae of mosquitoes and other invertebrates, larval frogs (tadpoles) and salamanders, and other small, free-swimming creatures feed upon the tiny plants and minute animals living in the masses of periphyton. These periphyton feeders are in turn fed upon by small fish, frogs, and other vertebrates, which are food for big fish, birds, mammals, and reptiles; most of these larger creatures are preyed upon by the alligator.

The periphyton is perhaps most important for its role in maintaining the physicalenvironmentof themarsh. The water flowing over thelimestoneof the glades is hard with calcium. Thealgaeremove this calcium and convert it tomarl(seeglossary), which precipitates to the bottom. Sawgrass is rooted in this marl; accumulated dead sawgrass formspeat; other marsh plants, including willows and the trees of the bayheads, spring up from the peat. Acid from the peat and from decaying plant matter of the tree islands dissolves some of the marl and underlying bedrock—and the cycle is complete.

Every plant, every animal, every physical element is involved in this web of life—as soil builder,predator, plant-eater, scavenger, agent of decay, or converter of energy and raw materials into food. Damage to or removal of any of these components—pollution of the water, lowering of the water table, elimination of a predator, or any interference in the energy cycle—could destroy the glades as we know them.

BEGINNING OFFOOD CHAIN

Every other plant-and-animalcommunityin the park—hammock,mangroveswamp, pineland, etc.—is an association of large and small organisms sharing a physicalenvironment. It is impossible to understand either the park as a whole or the life of a single creature without being aware of these interrelationships.

Out in the sunny glades the broad leaves of the alligator flag mark the location of an alligator hole. This is the most incredible ecosystem of all the worlds within the world of the park; for in a sense the alligator is the keeper of theeverglades.

With feet and snout these reptiles clear out the vegetation and muck from the larger holes in thelimestone. In the dry season, when the floor of the glades checks in the sun, these holes are oases. Then large numbers of fish, turtles, snails, and other fresh-water animals take refuge in the holes, moving right in with the alligators. Enough of these water-dependent creatures thus survive the drought to repopulate the glades when the rains return. Birds and mammals join the migration of theevergladesanimal kingdom to the alligator holes, feed upon the concentrated life in them—and in turn occasionally become food for their alligator hosts.

ALLIGATOR FLAG

Lily pads float on the surface. Around the edges arrowleaf, cattails, and other emergent plants grow. Behind them on higher muckland, much of which is created by the alligators as they pile up plant debris, stand ferns, wildflowers, andswamptrees.Algaethrive in the water. The rooted water plants might become so dense as to hinder the movementand growth of the fish, were it not for the weeding activities of the alligators. With the old reptiles keeping the pool open, the fish thrive, and alligator and guests live well.

Plants piled beside the hole by the alligator decay and form soil with mud andmarl. Ferns, wildflowers, and tree seedlings take root, and eventually the alligator hole may be the center of atree island.

So, it’s easy to see how important the alligator is to theecologyof the park. Unfortunately for this reptile, many people in the past believed only in the value of its hide. Hunting for alligators became profitable in the mid-1880’s and continued until the 1960’s. In 1961 Florida prohibited all hunting of alligators, but poaching continued to take its toll. Finally, the FederalEndangeredSpecies Act of 1969 protected the alligator by eliminating all hunting and trafficking in hides.

As a result of complete protection, the alligator has increased greatly in number. They are no longer anendangeredspecies in Florida, and they can easily be found in gator holes andsloughs. Today alligators are eagerly sought by visitors toEvergladesNational Park who are anxious to see and photograph this unique creature. Once again, the alligator is the keeper of the everglades.

ACTUAL SIZE AT HATCHING (8″ to 10″)

Alligator

40 TO 60 EGGS LAID IN NEST OF HUMUS IN MAY OR JUNE

MOTHER TENDS YOUNG 1 TO 2 YEARS1 YEAR OLD: ABOUT 2′ LONG

ALLIGATOR HOLE IN THE GLADES

EvergladesNational Park, with its array of plantcommunities—ranging from the pines and palmettos rooted in the pittedlimestonebedrock of the park’s dry uplands, through the periphyton-basedmarshcommunity and the brackishmangroveswamp, to the highly saline waters of Florida Bay—is an amateur botanist’s paradise. Many of the park’s plants are found nowhere else in the United States. Only here at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula do tropical trees and orchids mingle with oaks and pines.

This book is not intended to be a manual for identification of theEvergladesplants. You will need to arm yourself with appropriate field guides to ferns, orchids, aquatic plants, trees, or whatever your special interest may be. The reading list in the appendix suggests a few.

While the park is a mecca for students of plantlife, you must keep one thing in mind: your collecting will be limited to photographs (and, if you’re an artist, drawings).No specimens may be removed or disturbed.Fortunately, with today’s versatile cameras and high-quality color films you can take home a complete and accurate record of your plant discoveries.

Much of our present knowledge ofEvergladesplantlife has been garnered by amateurs. Much more needs to be accumulated before an environmental management program for the park can be perfected, and serious students of botany are invited to make their data available to the park staff.

As for wild animals, one hardly needs to look for them in this park! Most visitors come here, at least partly, for that reason. And even those not seeking wildlife should be alert to avoid stepping on or running down the slower or less wary creatures. But animal watching is a great pastime, and it pays to learn to do it right. A few suggestions may help you make the most of your experience inEverglades.

BIRDS AND REPTILES

A notebook in which to record your observations will help you discover that this park is not just a landscape of grass, water, and trees where a lot of animals happen to live—but a complex, subtropical world of plant-and-animalcommunities, each distinct and yet dependent upon the others. To gain real understanding of this world you will need certain skills and some good habits. Ability to identify what you see—with the help of good field guides (seereading list) and quite a bit of practice—will make things easier and much more enjoyable.

Knowing where to look for the animals helps; this book and the field guides are useful for this. You’ll find that some species are seen only in certain parts of the park, while others roam far and wide. Don’t look for the crocodile in the fresh-water glades—nor for the round-tailed muskrat in themangroves. On the other hand, don’t be surprised to see the raccoon or its tracks in almost any part of the park.

Keep in mind that all species in the national parks are protected by law. Most wild animals are harmless as long as they are not molested. If you encounter an animal you aren’t sure about, simply keep out of its way; don’t try to harm it or drive it off. Always remember that each animal is part of theEvergladescommunity; you cannot disturb it without affecting everything else.

Long before you have learned to distinguish the major plantcommunities, you will be aware of the air plants—or epiphytes—that grow so profusely inEverglades. Epiphytes are non-parasitic plants that grow on other plants, getting their nourishment from the air. Best known is Spanish moss, which festoons the trees of the coastal South from Virginia to Texas; this plant is used by the swallow-tailed kite in constructing its beautiful nest. Despite its name, Spanish moss is actually a member of the pineapple family—thebromeliads. Bromeliads are the most conspicuous of the park’s air plants. The epiphytic orchids, though less common, are celebrated for their beauty; their fame, unfortunately, has led to their widespread destruction. There are also epiphytic ferns, trees, and vines; and one cactus, the mistletoe cactus, has taken to the air.

Air plants are highly specialized for making a living under crowded conditions; there are more than 2,000 species of plants competing for sun and water in southern Florida. The epiphytes have adapted to the problem of space by growing on other plants. Their roots, although they absorb some water and minerals, are primarily anchors. Living in an atmosphere that fluctuates between drought and humidity, they have evolved several water-conserving tricks. Some have a reduced number of leaves; others have tough skins that resist loss of water through transpiration; still others have thick stems, called pseudobulbs, that store moisture. Thebromeliadsare particularly ingenious: many have leaves shaped in such a way that they hold rainwater in vaselike reservoirs at their bases. Mosquitoes and tree frogs breed in these tiny reservoirs, and in dry periods many arboreal animals seek the dew that collects here.

Most of the orchids andbromeliadsgrow in the dimly lit tropical hardwoodhammocksand cypresssloughs. A few species, however, having adapted to the sunlight, live on dwarfmangrovesand the scattered buttonwoods, pond apples, willows, and cocoplums of the glades. The butterfly and cowhorn orchids are sun lovers, as are the twisted, banded, and stiff-leaved bromeliads. All have adapted to the sun with dew-condensing mechanisms or vases at the bottom of the clustered leaves.

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