The Everglades is known for it's wide variety of plant life. There are six different types of habitats in the Everglades, each with it's own unique plant life. These habitats are the Mangrove Swamp, the Coastal Prairie, the Marl Prairie, the Tropical Hardwood Hammock, the Cypress Domes, and the Pinelands.
The Red Mangroves have arching roots that extend from the trunk and sometimes the branches too. The tree depends on these for survival. This mangrove normally grows near or on the water's edge, where water is constantly running and the weather is harshest. The soil is usually covered with water. To deal with this saturated (wet) environment the tree has lenticles, which are small breathing pores, located on it's roots. The Red Mangrove's favorite environment is an inlet,, where the fresh water mixes with the salt water. The mangroves handle this salt water by screening the water and not letting any salt enter the roots. This mangrove's seed starts growing on the tree, as it grows it it sends a small spike downward. Later, when the seed drops, it spears into the ground and begins it's life.
The Coastal Prairie is made up of the Glass Wort and the Pickrellweed. The Glass Wort is a leafweed that is light green in the summer and red in the fall. It lives in saltmarshes.
Sawgrass is the main plant in the Marl Prairie. Sawgrass is not actually grass at all, it is part of the sedge family. it is a tough plant with teeth pointing upward, which scratches anything trying to mess with it. Each leaf is in the is in the shape of a "V".
The Tropical Hardwood Hammock is made up of the Strangler Fig, West Indian Mahogany, Florida Royal Palm, Cabbage Palm, Gumbo Limbo, Poisonwood, and Inkwood. The Strangler Fig is interesting. When the seeds fall, they are eaten by birds and then dropped in their droppings. It then grows around a tree and strangles it to death. Finally, the Strangler Fig is alone with the leftovers of the decayed plant which was the first one there.
In the wild the bald cypress can grow up to 100 to 125 feet tall. However, in the Cypress Dome they rarely grow taller then 25 feet. They grow in fresh water swamps. The bark is a light brown and sheds in strips. The leaves are a soft light green. They produce "knees" as an adaptation to the saturated (wet) soil. Knees are protrusions of the roots above the ground which can be up to six feet high. Knees look like sawed-off trees which have healed over.
The Pineland are made up of Slash Pines and Saw Palmetto. The Slash Pine got it's name from it's slashes which are used to get sap that makes turpentine. The wood is also very hard, Which is unusual for pines. Pinelands are also very helpful when it comes to paper. Many acres of Glass Pines are planted for this purpose. One thing that is very neat is that pines are resistant to fire.
