Florida's Native Plant Communities

Freshwater Tidal Swamp

  • Tidal swamp at Bulow Woods State Park, Flagler County. Photograph taken at low tide. Photo by Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter

  • Tidal swamp at Bulow Woods State Park, Flagler County at low tide. Photo by Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter

Photographs belong to the photographers who allow use for FNPS purposes only.

Information

Community Variants:

N/A

Description:

Tidal swamps are forested river-mouth wetlands that occur on organic to alluvial soils. They are primarily inundated with freshwater in response to tidal cycles, though saltwater incursions may occur during extreme storm events. Fire is rare or absent.


Vegetation

Typical canopy species include cypress ( Taxodium spp. ), bays ( Persea spp. , Magnolia virginiana , Gordonia lasianthus ), cabbage palm ( Sabal palmetto ), gum species ( Nyssa spp. ), and/or cedars ( Juniperus spp. ).

References:

Florida Department of Environmental Protection. (1992). Soil and water relationships of Florida's ecological communities. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wetlands/delineation/docs/soil-and-water.pdf


Florida Natural Areas Inventory. (2010). Guide to the natural communities of Florida: 2010 edition. Florida Natural Areas Inventory. http://fnai.org/naturalcommguide.cfm


Florida Natural Areas Inventory & Florida Department of Natural Resources. (1990). Guide to the natural communities of Florida. Florida Natural Areas Inventory. http://fnai.org/PDF/Natural_Communities_Guide_1990.pdf


Myers, R. L., & Ewel, J. J. (Eds.). (1990). Ecosystems of Florida. University of Central Florida Press.


Whitney, E. N., Means, D. B., & Rudloe, A. (2004). Priceless Florida: Natural ecosystems and native species. Pineapple Press.

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