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South Florida Cypress Dome
The south Florida cypress dome is a forested wetland plant community found in southern Florida, mostly in and around the Everglades and the Big Cypress National Preserve. They form in shallow depressions whose impervious substrates hold standing water for several months of the year. Although the center of the depression is its deepest part, it is also where trees are the tallest and oldest. This gives these swamps a dome-like appearance and also their name. The stagnant water in the depressions is highly acidic. Pond cypress ('' Taxodium ascendens'') is the most common tree in cypress domes. It is joined by the subtropical shrubs pond-apple (''Annona glabra''), cocoplum ('' Chrysobalanus icaco''), and swamp bay (''Persea palustris''). Herbaceous plants include giant red bacopa (''Bacopa caroliniana''). The strangler fig (''Ficus aurea'') and the ghost orchid ('' Dendrophylax lindenii'') are also found here. It is distinguished from the similar southern coastal plain nonriverin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cypress Dome With Alligator (2), NPSphoto, G
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the latinisation of the Greek κυπάρισσος (''kyparissos''). Cypress trees are a large classification of conifers, encompassing the trees and shrubs from the cypress family (Cupressaceae) and many others with the word “cypress” in their common name. Many cypress trees have needle-like, evergreen foliage and acorn-like seed cones. Species Species that are commonly known as cypresses include: Most prominently: *Cypress (multiple species within the genus ''Cupressus'') Otherwise: *African cypress ('' Widdringtonia'' species), native to Southern Africa *Bald, Pond, and Montezuma cypresses (''Taxodium'' species), native to North America *Chinese swamp cypress (''Glyptostrobus pensilis''), Vietnam, critically endangered *Cordilleran c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or Body of water, water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or seawater, saltwater. The main w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando, Florida, Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee. Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow-moving river wide and over long, flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state. The Everglades experiences a wide range of weather patterns, from frequent flooding in the wet season to drought in the dry season. Throughout the 20th century, the Everglades suffered significant loss of habitat and environmental degradation. Human habitation in the southern portion of the Florida peninsula dates to 15,000 years ago. Before European colonization, the region was dominated by the native Calusa and Tequesta tribes. With Spanish colonizati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Cypress National Preserve
Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in South Florida, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Miami on the Atlantic coastal plain. The Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, became the first national preserves in the United States National Park System when they were established on October 11, 1974. In 2008, Florida film producer Elam Stoltzfus featured the preserve in a PBS documentary. Big Cypress borders the wet freshwater marl prairies of Everglades National Park to the south, and other state and federally protected cypress country in the west, with water from the Big Cypress flowing south and west into the coastal Ten Thousand Islands region of Everglades National Park. History Archaeology at Platt Island in the preserve shows humans settled there more than two thousand years ago. The Calusa people had an extensive presence in the area when Europeans arrived. Big Cypress was historically occupied by variou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as either '' bedding surfaces'' or ''bedding planes''.Salvador, A. ed., 1994. ''International stratigraphic guide: a guide to stratigraphic classification, terminology, and procedure. 2nd ed.'' Boulder, Colorado, The Geological Society of America, Inc., 215 pp. . Prior to the publication of the International Stratigraphic Guide, older publications have defined a stratum as either being either equivalent to a single bed or composed of a number of beds; as a layer greater than 1 cm in thickness and constituting a part of a bed; or a general term that includes both ''bed'' and ''lamina''.Neuendorf, K.K.E., Mehl, Jr., J.P., and Jackson, J.A. , eds., 2005. ''Glossary of Geology'' 5th ed. Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute. 779 pp. . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxodium Ascendens
''Taxodium ascendens'', also known as pond cypress, is a deciduous conifer of the genus ''Taxodium'', native to North America. Many botanists treat it as a variety of bald cypress, ''Taxodium distichum'' (as ''T. distichum'' var. ''imbricatum'') rather than as a distinct species, but it differs in habitat, occurring mainly in still blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black te ...s, ponds and swamps without silt-rich flood deposits. It predominates in cypress dome habitats. Description ''Taxodium ascendens'' reaches on average in height. Compared to ''T. distichum'', the leaves are shorter (3–10 mm long), slenderer and are on shoots that tend to be erect rather than spreading. The trunk is expanded at the base, even on young trees, assisting the tree in an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annona Glabra
''Annona glabra'' is a Tropics, tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as the soursop and cherimoya. Common names include pond apple, alligator apple (so called because American alligators often eat the fruit), swamp apple, corkwood, bobwood, and monkey apple. The tree is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. It is common in the Everglades. The ''A. glabra'' tree is considered an invasive species in Sri Lanka and Australia. It grows in swamps, is Halophyte, tolerant of saltwater, and cannot grow in dry soil. Description The trees grow to up to 12 m. They have narrow, gray trunks and sometimes grow in clumps. The leaf, leaves are ovate to oblong, each with an acute tip, 8–15 cm long and 4–6 cm broad with a prominent midrib. The upper surface is light to dark green. Leaves of the ''A. glabra'' are said to have a distinct smell, similar to green apples, that can distinguish it from man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysobalanus Icaco
''Chrysobalanus'' is a genus of evergreen perennial shrubs to small trees, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to sub-tropical and tropical regions of Africa, Latin America, and Florida. ''Chrysobalanus'' attains a maximum height of 25 or 30 feet (8–10 m). It is found in coastal areas as a wild plant, and is frequently planted in gardens. It has a low-growing and sprawling habit. It can form dense stands and become invasive. The leaves are obovate or obcordate in outline, about 2in long, thick, glossy, and deep green in color. It has small white flowers, in axillary racemes or cymes, not too showy, but they have a dainty and sweet fragrance. This plant bears a damson-sized edible red pulpy fruit with a black and thin skin, resembles a large plum in appearance, being oval 1.5in long. The sweet fruits with white flesh, which is cottony and of insipid taste, adheres closely to the large oblong seed turn from creamy tones to dark-blue pleasing tasty peaches which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persea Palustris
''Persea palustris'', also known as swamp bay or swampbay, is a small tree or shrub found throughout the Southeastern United States and the Bahamas, with much of its range overlapping with that of its relative ''Persea borbonia''. It is generally not more than tall, with bark separated into scales by fissures across its surface. Mature leaves are green, paler on their undersides, which have prominent brownish or reddish-brown hairs. The species prefers swamps and costal areas, particularly locations with moist, peat-rich soil. It is sensitive to the fungal disease known as laurel wilt, even more so than related species. Description ''Persea palustris'' can appear as a slender tree, with a trunk between tall. The trunk is usually under in diameter. More commonly, however, it grows as a shrub with stems between . The dull brown bark is typically no more than thick, with fissures separating its surface into individual scales. The branches are stout, and when young, they are tere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbaceous Plant
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of the ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'' defines "herb" as: #"A plant whose stem does not become woody and persistent (as in a tree or shrub) but remains soft and succulent, and dies (completely or down to the root) after flowering"; #"A (freq. aromatic) plant used for flavouring or scent, in medicine, etc.". (See: Herb) The same dictionary defines "herbaceous" as: #"Of the nature of a herb; esp. not forming a woody stem but dying down to the root each year"; #"BOTANY Resembling a leaf in colour or texture. Opp. scarious". Botanical sources differ from each other on the definition of "herb". For instance, the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation includes the condition "when persisting over more than one growing season, the parts o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacopa Caroliniana
''Bacopa caroliniana'' is a flowering plant species. Common names Giant red bacopa; lemon bacopa; water hyssop Synonyms ''Bacopa amplexicaulis''; ''Obolaria caroliniana''; ''Herpestes amplexicaulis''; ''Herpestes caroliniana'' Distribution It commonly grows in marshy areas in the southern United States and in South Korea. Description ''Bacopa caroliniana'' is a perennial creeping herb. The leaves of this plant are succulent, smell of lemon if crushed, and are relatively thick. Leaves are oblanceolate and are arranged oppositely on the stem. The flowers are blue, with five petals. It grows to . It will grow above the water if given the chance with similar but waxy leaves and will even flower underwater occasionally, though the flowers soon rot. Emersed flowers do not produce seeds on their own, requiring cross pollination. Cultivation Its ability to grow in water makes it a popular aquarium plant. It can even grow in slightly brackish conditions. Propagation is through cutt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ficus Aurea
''Ficus aurea'', commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig), golden fig, or ''higuerón'', is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet ''aurea'' was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846. ''Ficus aurea'' is a strangler fig. In figs of this group, seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree with the seedling living as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. After that, it enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a free-standing tree in its own right. Individuals may reach in height. Like all figs, it has an obligate mutualism with fig wasps: figs are only pollinated by fig wasps, and fig wasps can only reproduce in fig flowers. The tree provides habitat, food and shelter for a host of tropical lifeforms includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
