Florida's Native Plant Communities

Mangrove Swamp

  • Mangroves in the Florida keys. Photo by Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter

  • Mangroves at Boot Key, near Marathon.  Photo by Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter

  • Mangroves along Biscayne Bay. Photo by Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter

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

Information

Community Variants:

N/A

Description:

Mangrove swamps occur in intertidal rocky and muddy areas and extend into supratidal zones occupied primarily by woody vascular macrophytes. These systems often support abundant epiphytes and epifauna.


Characteristic species include:

  • Red mangrove ( Rhizophora mangle )
  • Black mangrove ( Avicennia germinans )
  • White mangrove ( Laguncularia racemosa )
  • Buttonwood ( Conocarpus erectus )

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


Gann, G. D., Bradley, K. A., & Woodmansee, S. W. (2009). Floristic inventory of South Florida database. Institute for Regional Conservation. http://regionalconservation.org/ircs/database/database.asp


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


U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. (1986). 26 ecological communities of Florida. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00000110/00001


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

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