Hardwoods are broad leaved trees that grow well in the everglades.
Tropical hardwood hammock plants.
These tree branches help keep the hammocks shady and cool.
Common tropical plant species found within the hammocks of ten thousand islands national wildlife refuge include gumbo limbo strangler fig and ironwoods.
Their branches and leaves crisscross so much they create a canopy or cover above your head.
These plants may be found in other tropical climates like the west indies but in the united states they only occur in the tropical hardwood hammocks of south florida.
Tropical hardwood hammocks provide critical habitat for a number of plants whose northernmost portions of ranges extend into south florida.
To walk into a hardwood hammock is to walk through a shady tropical forest.
If you were to look straight up you might have trouble seeing the sun and sky because of all the trees growing close together.
Temperate species such as live oak red maple virginia creeper and hackberry may also be found within this habitat.
Tropical hardwood hammocks are closed canopy forests dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi deciduous tree and shrub species mostly of west indian origin.