Hammock Park

Dunedin, FL

     Hardwood hammocks usually consist of hardwood trees and usually at a higher elevation. Of course, some other trees that are not considered hardwoods can be present. At Hammock Park, there were a lot of Live Oaks that made up the majority of the canopy. The understory consisted of ferns and vines. The vines are there due to the lack of light. Since there is little light that gets through the canopy, the vines are able to use the teller trees as support and thus can use less of their energy for structural support and more for growing taller.

     There are three types of hammocks: hydric, mesic, and xeric. Hydric hammocks have a more wet environment, but the water doesn’t usually last all year. The amount of water in hydric hammocks depends of rainfall for the year along with the type of soil present. If there is more clay in the soil, then the water will take longer to percolate through; which is the case with hydric hammocks. Mesic hammocks are slightly more dry than hydric hammocks but still have water for some part of the year. The soil has slightly more sand in the soil which allows for greater drainage of the water making the mesic hammock more dry. Xeric hammocks are the last type of hammock and they are the driest of the three. They have the highest amount of sand in their soil which allows for quick drainage. Xeric hammocks are also more likely to burn compared to the other two. This is because of the dry environment and because of the lack of fire in high pine grassland environments which are prone to fire. If a high pine grassland has not had fire in a long time, a hammock will eventually develop.

     One way that hammocks can change is when a tree falls. This is called gap succession and allows for more light to enter the understory allowing other plants to grow. Some plants are adapted to grow very quickly when gap succession occurs. The plant will grow more broad at the bottom and store energy when it is ready to grow taller and shoot up when there is an opportunity. Another way that the hammocks change is through mechanical thinning since fires do not usually come through. The thinning allows for new things to grow along with providing dead material to be decomposed by fungus or worms. 

American beauty berry a native plant to Florida and is currently fruiting. The berries can be picked and made into a jelly. 

Castor plant. The seeds of this plant are poisonous. 

Cherry laurel. This plant was found as part of the understory of the hammock. A cherry scent can be smelled if the leaves are rubbed to release the smell. 

This is a hydric hammock. Hydric hammocks are wet for part of the year and can have different plants than the other types of hammocks due to the water. 

Monarch caterpillar.