Chapter II: Part 2

Of the approximately 20 species of epiphytic ferns in the park, the most common is the curious resurrection fern. Sometimes called the poor man’s barometer, it has leaves that in dry weather curl under and turn brown but with the coming of rain quickly unfold and turn bright green, making instant gardens of the logs, limbs, and branches on which they grow.

Watch for the air plants (as well as the trees and other wildflowers) that have been labeled along the trails and boardwalks. You will be able to examine some of them closely—but leave them unharmed for future visitors!

Mammals

In the drowned habitats of Everglades it is not surprising to find water-bound mammals such as the porpoise; or fish-eating amphibious mammals such as the otter; or even land mammals, such as the raccoon, that characteristically feed upon aquatic life. But to see mammals that one ordinarily does not associate with water behaving as though they were born to it is another matter. The white-tailed deer is an example. It is so much a part of this watery environment that you will most likely observe it far out in the glades, feeding upon aquatic plants or bounding over the marsh. Very probably the deer you see was born on one of the tree islands, and has never been out of sight of the sawgrass river.

Many other mammals of Everglades are adapted to a semi-aquatic existence. The park’s only representative of the hare-and-rabbit clan is the marsh rabbit; smaller than its close relative, the familiar cottontail of fields and woodlands, it is as comfortable in this wet world as if it had webbed feet. So don’t be startled if you see a rabbit swimming here! The park’s rodents include the marsh rice rat and round-tailed muskrat, also at home in a watery environment.

The playful otter, though it may travel long distances overland, is a famous water-lover. Lucky is the visitor who sees a family of these large relatives of the weasel! The otter’s smaller cousin, the everglades mink, is also a denizen of the marsh and a predator in the food web; but you are not likely to see this wary animal.

Raccoons and opossums, adaptable creatures that they are, live in all the park’s environments—except in the air and under water. Their diets are as wide-ranging as their habitat. The raccoon, though it has a taste for aquatic animals such as fish, frogs, and crayfish, also consumes small land vertebrates and various plant foods. The opossum eats virtually anything in the animal kingdom that it can find and subdue, as well as a wide variety of plant materials.

SOME IMPORTANT EVERGLADES MAMMALS

SPECIES PINE HARDWOOD GLADES MANGROVE FRESH- FLORIDA COASTAL REMARKS
ROCKLAND HAMMOCK SWAMP WATER BAY and PRAIRIE
SWAMPS KEYS

Opossum X X X X X X X Short-tailed X Shrew Least Shrew X Marsh Rabbit X X X X X X Fox Squirrel X ? Rice Rat X X Cotton Mouse X X X X Hispid Cotton X Rat Florida Water X X Rat Raccoon X X X X X X X Abundant Black Bear ? ? ? ? ? ? Very rare Mink X X River Otter X X Gray Fox [1]X Bobcat X X X X X X Florida panther X X X X Rare White-tailed X X X X X Deer Bottle-nosed X Dolphin Manatee [2]X X

[1]In pinelands.

[2]Estuaries.

South Florida is the last known refuge in the world for a sub-species of cougar known as the Florida panther. This large, beautiful cat is on the endangered species list. Today many groups and individuals are working to keep this predator a part of the environment. Their efforts have resulted in methods to assist panther recovery: lower speed limits and highway culverts and bridges, to mention only two. With continued assistance, the panther may remain a part of the Everglades for years to come.

Because it is much more numerous and much less secretive in its habits, the bobcat is more likely to be encountered by park visitors than is the cougar. Keep your eyes alert for this wild feline—particularly in the Flamingo area—and you may have a chance to observe it closely and at some length (even by daylight!). Such boldness and such unconcern for humans are not typical of this species, but seem to be peculiarities of the bobcats living in the park. Although bobcats are not known as water lovers, they are found in all the Everglades environments. Their apparent liking for life in the park may be due to an abundance of food and to freedom from persecution by man and his dogs. Bobcats in Everglades, if their food habits elsewhere are any guide, probably live on rodents, marsh rabbits, and birds, with possibly an occasional fawn.

In Florida Bay and the estuaries, look for the porpoise, or bottlenosed dolphin, a small member of the whale order that has endeared itself to Americans through its antics at marine aquariums and on television. Watch for it when you are on a boat trip in the park’s marine environment.

Much less commonly seen, and much less familiar, is the timid and very rare manatee. It’s probably the “most” animal of the park—the largest (sometimes over 15 feet long and weighing nearly 1 ton), the shyest, the strangest, and the homeliest; and it is probably also the most delicate, for a drop in water temperatures may kill it. The estuaries of Everglades National Park are almost the northern limits of its normal range. But manatees are often found well north of the park on both coasts in cold weather, when they swim up rivers to seek the constant-temperature water discharged by electric power plants. Despite its size, the manatee is a harmless creature, being a grazer—a sort of underwater cow that is exceptionally vulnerable to motorboats because of its gentle nature and languid movement.

Birds

From the pelican—whose mouth can hold more than its belly can—to the tiny hummingbird, the birds of Everglades National Park add beauty, amusement, excitement, and drama to the daily scene. Much more conspicuous than the park’s other animals, they can be enjoyed with no special effort. But a pair of binoculars and a field guide will make bird watching a more rewarding pastime for you.

Many of the park’s birds are large and colorful, and so tolerant of man’s presence that you can observe them closely without the aid of binoculars. The Anhinga Trail and other sites on or near the main park road provide ready access to activity by herons and egrets, cormorants, gallinules, and other species that feed upon the fish, frogs, and lesser life of the waters.

The anhinga, after whom the park’s most popular trail is named, is a favorite with visitors. It is also called water-turkey, probably because of its large size and long, white-tipped tail feathers. A third name, snake bird, derives from the anhinga’s habit of swimming almost totally submerged with its long, snaky neck above the surface. The anhinga is a skilled fisherman, seeking out its quarry by swimming underwater. It spears a fish with its beak, surfaces, tosses the fish into the air, catches it, and gulps it down head first. During this activity, the anhinga has gotten soaked to the skin, for, unlike ducks and many other water birds, it is not well supplied with oil to keep its plumage dry. So, following a plunge, the anhinga struggles to the branch of a shrub or tree, and, spreading its wings, hangs its feathers out to dry.

The snail kite, one of America’s rarest birds, flies low over the fresh-water marshes, its head pointed downward, searching for its sole food—the Pomacea snail. A sharply hooked beak enables it to remove the snail from its shell. More striking in appearance is its cousin, the swallow-tailed kite, aerial acrobat of the hawk family—a migrant that nests in the park in spring and spends the winter in South America. On long, pointed wings this handsome bird eats in the air while holding itself in one place on the wind. In the mangroves, it hunts in an unusual way: skimming over the trees, it snatches lizards and other small animals from the topmost branches. Red-shouldered hawks, often seen perching on the treetops beside the park road, feed upon snakes and other small animals. The fish-eating osprey is another conspicuous resident of the park, and its bulky nests will be seen when you take a boat trip into Florida Bay or the mangrove wilderness. The bald eagle, which, sadly, is no longer common in North America and may soon be exterminated because of pesticide pollution of its fishing waters, is still holding out in the Everglades region, where 50 or so breeding pairs seem to be reproducing successfully.

immature
adult

The long-legged wading birds of the heron family are so numerous and so much alike in appearance that you will need your bird guide for sure identification. The waders are interesting to watch, because of the variety of feeding methods. Particularly amusing are the antics of the reddish egret as it hunts small animals in the shallows of Florida Bay at low tide. It is much unlike other herons in its manner of hunting: it lurches through the shallows, dashing to left and right as if drunk, in pursuit of its prey. This clownish survivor of the old plume-hunting days exists in Florida in very limited numbers.

Since about 300 species of birds have been recorded in the park, this sampling barely suggests the pleasures awaiting you if you plan to spend some time playing the Everglades bird-watching game.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Everglades’ most famous citizen—the alligator—is looked for by all visitors to the park, who may, however, be unaware that many other kinds of reptiles and a dozen species of amphibians dwell here.

The American crocodile, less common than the alligator and restricted to the Florida Bay region, is a shy and secretive animal seen by few visitors. Similar in size and appearance to the alligator, it is distinguished by a narrower snout and a lighter color. Its habitat overlaps that of the alligator, which prefers fresh or brackish water.

The turtles of the park include terrestrial, fresh-water, and marine species. Box turtles are often seen along the roads. The softshell and snapping turtles live in the fresh-water areas and are often eaten by alligators. Loggerhead turtles nest on Cape Sable beaches, otherwise they rarely come ashore. Their eggs are often discovered and devoured by the abundant raccoons. But man has been largely responsible for the loggerhead’s increasing rarity.

Although the park has about two dozen species of snakes, you may not encounter any of them. Most are harmless—several species of snakes frequent the waterways, and it is a mistake to assume that any water snake you see is a moccasin. Two worth watching for are the everglades rat snake and the indigo snake, both handsome and entirely harmless to man. The former is a constrictor, feeding mostly on rodents. The indigo is one of our longest snakes—sometimes reaching more than 100 inches—and now in danger of extinction.

Ordinary caution and alertness when walking on trails is advisable; but keep in mind that the snakes are not aggressive, and that as part of the web of life in the park they are given protection just as are birds and mammals.

Of those close relatives of snakes, the lizards, the Florida anole is most commonly seen. This is the little reptile sold at circuses as a “chameleon”; it is quite unlike the true chameleon of the Old World. The so-called “glass snake”—which got its name from its defensive maneuver of dropping off its tail (which is longer than the rest of its body) and from its snakelike appearance—is actually a legless lizard. The lizards, like the smaller snakes, are primarily insectivorous.

The park’s amphibians, too, are quite inconspicuous. The voices of frogs and toads during the breeding season, however, are part of the Everglades atmosphere. You will enjoy the nocturnal serenade at egg-laying time—and it is quite possible to learn to identify species by their songs, which are as distinctive as those of birds.

The green treefrog, with its bell-like, repeated “queenk-queenk-queenk” call, is abundant, and can be seen and heard easily during the breeding season, particularly at Royal Palm Hammock and on the Anhinga Trail.

The cold-blooded vertebrates, including fish, amphibians, and reptiles, play a significant role in the balance of life in the park, feeding upon each other and upon lesser animals and in turn being food for larger predators such as herons, hawks, raccoons, and otters.

Fishes

“Fishing Reserved for the Birds,” says the sign at the beginning of the Anhinga Trail. Actually, the catching of fish in the fresh waters of the park is an important activity not only for herons, anhingas, grebes, and ospreys, but also for raccoons, mink, turtles, alligators ... and bigger fish. Not surprisingly in the drowned habitats of Everglades, even the smallest fish are important in the web of life.

One tiny species, the gambusia, is of special interest to us. This 2-inch fish is credited with helping keep down the numbers of mosquitoes by feeding upon their aquatic larvae. This accounts for its other name—mosquito fish—and for its popularity with humans. But its services to us are not the measure of the gambusia’s importance, for it is a link in many food chains in the park’s brackish and fresh-water habitats. Beginning with algae, we can trace one such chain through mosquito larvae, sunfish, and bass, to end with the alligator. We can only guess at the extent of the ecological effects of the loss of a single species such as the little gambusia.

The larger fish of Everglades are the most sought after. Sport fishermen want to know where to find and how to recognize the many varieties of game fish, especially largemouth bass and such famed salt-water and brackish zone species as tarpon, snook, mangrove snapper, and barracuda. Because of its cycles of flood and drought, and the shifting brackish zones, however, the distribution and the numbers of fish fluctuate greatly in the glades and mangrove regions. At times of drought, the fish concentrations are particularly evident. In mid- or late winter, sloughs that are no longer deep enough to flow, pools, and other standing bodies of water will have a myriad of gambusia, killifish, and minnows. Larger fish seek the sanctuary of the headwaters of the Harney, Shark, and Broad Rivers. At such times concentrations of bass may be so great that the angler may catch his daily limit in a few hours. (There are no legal limits for the herons and ’gators!)

As water levels continue to fall, salt water intrudes farther inland; such species as snook and tarpon move up the now brackish rivers, and may be seen in the same waters as bluegills and largemouth bass.

In some years water levels drop so severely that concentrations of fish are too great for the habitat to support. As the surface water shrinks, the fish use up the available free oxygen and begin to die. The largest expire first; the smaller fish seem less vulnerable to depleted oxygen supply. Even though many tons of fish may perish in such a die-off, a few small specimens of each variety survive to restock the glades when the rains return.

With no cold season when fish must remain dormant, and with a year-round food supply, bass and sunfish grow rapidly and reach breeding size before the next drought.

These fish kills are associated with drought conditions that occur in the ordinary course of events, and thus are natural phenomena not to be considered ecological disasters. But man’s violent upsetting of the drainage patterns of south Florida, through airport, canal, and highway construction and other developments, can bring about such drastic shortages (or even surpluses) of water that irreparable damage could be done to the ecology of Everglades aquatic communities.

While fish watching may not be the exciting sport that bird watching is, you are the loser if you ignore this part of the life of Everglades. Fish are so abundant in the park that no one has to haul them in on a line to discover them. You can hardly miss spotting the larger fresh-water forms if you take the trouble to look down into the sloughs, ponds, and alligator holes.

Identifying the species of fish, however, is more difficult. The voracious-looking Florida spotted gar is an exception. This important predator on smaller fishes, which is in turn a major item in the diet of the alligator, is quite easily recognized. Experienced anglers will spot the largemouthed bass and the bluegill sunfish. You’ll see these and others as you walk on the Anhinga Trail boardwalk.

As you watch alligators and other native Everglades predators, you may get an inkling of how important in the web of life are the prolific fish populations of the sloughs, marshes, swamps, and offshore waters of the park.

Animals without Backbones

Insects are the most noticeable of the park’s invertebrates. (At times you may find your can of repellent as important as your shoes!) In all the fresh-water and brackish environments, insects and their larvae are important links in the food chains—at the beginning as primary consumers of algae and other plant material, and farther along as predators, mostly on other insects. Some insects are parasites on the park’s warmblooded animals (including you).

The invertebrates most sought by visitors are molluscs—or rather, their shells. You may find a few on the beach at Cape Sable, but don’t expect to find the park a productive shelling area. Stick to marine shells—_dead_ ones. You cannot collect the fresh-water molluscs. Also protected are the tree snails of jungle hammocks. Famed for their beauty, these snails of the genus _Liguus_, which grow to as much as 2½ inches in diameter, feed upon the lichens growing on certain hammock trees. Look for them—but leave them undisturbed, for they are a part of the community, protected just as are the park’s royal palms and its alligators.

BIG CYPRESS INDIAN RESERVATION
FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLE INDIAN RESERVATION
DANIA INDIAN RESERVATION
SCATTERED MOUNDS THROUGHOUT SHARK VALLEY
RUSSELL KEY
TURNER RIVER
LOPEZ RIVER
HOUSTON RIVER
MORMON KEY
GOPHER KEY
JOHNSON MOUND
FARM CREEK MOUND
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK
MONROE LAKE
EAST CAPE MOUNDS
_GULF OF MEXICO_
_FLORIDA BAY_
_ATLANTIC OCEAN_
Indian Mounds
Indian Villages
Big Cypress Swamp
Mangrove Swamp
Pine Rockland
Coastal Prairie
Everglades

INDIANS OF THE EVERGLADES

Your first awareness of the south Florida Indians will probably come during a trip along the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41, the cross-State highway just north of the park). You will notice clusters of Indian homes close to the road. Some are built on stilts, are thatched with palm fronds, and are open-sided so that no walls hamper the flow of cooling breezes. Many of the glades Indians prefer to live as their ancestors did some 150 years ago when they were newcomers to the everglades. Others have adopted the white man’s dwellings (as well as his occupations).

The Indians of south Florida—Miccosukees, sometimes called “Trail Indians”; and Muskogees, the “Cow Creek Seminoles”—are separate tribes, not sharing a common language. Today no Indians live inside the park boundaries.

The Indians arrived in Spanish Florida after the American Revolution. Many Creeks of Georgia and Alabama, crowded by the aggressive white man, fled south to the peninsula. They first settled in north Florida; when Florida became a State in 1845 they had to retreat farther south. Driven into the interior during the Seminole War of 1835, they eventually settled in the everglades, where deer, fish, and fruit were available. Though their territory is now much more limited, they still retain much of their independent spirit, and have never signed a peace treaty with the U.S. Government.

Many earn their living operating air boats, as proprietors and employees of roadside businesses, and in a variety of jobs on farms and in cities. The women create distinctive handicraft items, which find a ready market with tourists.

No one is certain when the first Indians—the Calusas and Tequestas—appeared in south Florida; it may have been more than 2,000 years ago. Even more than today’s glades Indians, these coastal Indians lived with the rhythm of river and tides, rain and drought. Hunting, fishing, and gathering of shellfish were their means of existence. We have learned this much of their life from artifacts unearthed from the many Indian mounds or washed up along the beaches. They lived on huge shell mounds, made pottery, used sharks’ teeth to make saws, and fashioned other tools from conch shells. They even built impoundments for fish—a few remains of these can be seen today. They were ingenious hunters. (Ponce de León and his Spanish explorer-marauders were said to have been turned back from the everglades by the deadly arrows these Indians fashioned from rushes.)

Following the arrival of the Spanish, these early Indians disappeared from the scene. They were apparently wiped out, destroyed by the white man’s diseases as much as by his aggression; but some may have escaped to Cuba. Perhaps a handful of them were still in the everglades when the Creeks came down from the north in 1835, and were absorbed into the new tribe. Their known history ends here.

Proud, independent, and ingenious in wresting a living from the land and the water, the Indians knew how to live with nature. Unlike the white man, they fitted into the plant-and-animal communities. Today these communities have been severely disrupted. In the few decades that the white man has been “developing” the region, he has broken every chain of life described in this book.

Alligator populations have been much reduced in south Florida; their chief prey, the garfish, has in some places become so numerous as to constitute a nuisance (most of all to the fresh-water anglers, some of whom had a hand in the killing of alligators). The pattern of waterflow over the glades, through the cypress swamps, and into the mangrove wilderness has been altered by highways and canals. Much of the habitat has been wiped out by construction of homes and factories and by farming operations. An increasingly alarming development is the pollution of glades waters by agricultural chemicals.

Only through complete understanding of this fragile, unique subtropical world can man reverse the destructive trend. Only through carefully applied protective and management practices can we make progress toward restoring to the Everglades some of its lost splendor.

Appendix

Glossary

ALGAE: (pronounced “AL-jee”) A group of plants (singular: ALGA, pronounced “AL-ga”), one-celled or many-celled, having chlorophyll, without roots, and living in damp places or in water.

BRACKISH WATER: Mixed fresh and salt water. Many species of plants and animals of marine and fresh-water habitats are adapted to life in estuaries and coastal swamps and marshes, where the water varies greatly in degree of salinity. Some animal species can be found in all three habitats.

BROMELIAD: A plant of the pineapple family. Many bromeliads are air plants, growing (not parasitically) on the trunks and branches of other plants, or even, as in the case of “Spanish moss,” on telephone wires.

COMMUNITY: The living part of the ecosystem; an assemblage of plants and animals living in a particular area or physical habitat. It can be as small as a decaying log, with its variety of mosses, insect larvae, burrowing beetles, ants, etc.; or as large as a forest of hundreds of square miles.

DECIDUOUS TREES: Trees that shed their leaves annually. Most hardwood trees are deciduous; some conifers, such as larches and baldcypresses, are deciduous.

ECOLOGY: The study of the relationship of living things to one another and to their physical environment.

ENDANGERED: A species of plant or animal that, throughout all or a significant portion of its range, is in danger of extinction.

ENVIRONMENT: All the external conditions, such as soil, water, air, and organisms, surrounding a living thing.

ESTIVATION: A prolonged dormant or sleeplike state that enables an animal to survive the summer in a hot climate. As in hibernation, breathing and heartbeat slow down, and the animal neither eats nor drinks.

ESTUARY: The portion of a river or coastal wetland affected by the rise and fall of the tide, containing a graded mixture of fresh and salt water.

EVERGLADE: A tract of marshy land covered in places with tall grasses. (In this book, “the everglades” refers to the river of grass; “Everglades” refers to the park, which contains other habitats besides everglades.)

EXOTIC: A foreign plant or animal that has been introduced, intentionally or unintentionally, into a new area.

FOOD CHAIN: A series of plants and animals linked by their food relationships, beginning with a green plant and ending with a predator.

HABITAT: The place where an organism lives; the immediate surroundings, living and unliving, of an organism. The habitat of the pine warbler is the pinelands; the habitat of an internal parasite of this bird is the body of the warbler.

HAMMOCK: A dense growth of broad-leaved trees on a slightly elevated area, not wet enough to be a swamp. In the park, hammocks are surrounded either by pineland or by marshland (glades).

HARDWOOD TREES: Trees with broad leaves (as opposed to conebearing trees, which have needles or scales). Most hardwood trees are deciduous, though many in south Florida retain their leaves throughout the year.

KEY: A reef or low-lying island. In south Florida, the term “key” is often also applied to hammocks or pinelands, which occupy areas where the limestone is raised above the surrounding wetlands.

LIMESTONE: A sedimentary rock derived from the shells and skeletons of animals deposited in seas, and consisting mostly of calcium carbonate. Soluble in water having a slight degree of acidity, it is often characterized by caverns and, in the everglades, by a very pitted surface. The rock underlying most of the park is the Miami Oölite (pronounced OH-uh-lite), formed during a recent glacial period. Oölitic limestone is composed of tiny round concretions, only indirectly derived from marine shells.

MANGROVE: Any of a group of tropical or subtropical trees, growing in estuaries and other low-lying coastal areas, usually producing aerial roots or prop roots and often forming dense growths over a large area. In south Florida there are four species, belonging to three different families.

MARSH: A wetland, salt or fresh, where few if any trees and shrubs grow, characterized by grasses and sedges; in fresh-water marshes, cattails are common.

MARL: In this book, used in the sense of a deposit of mixed limestone and smaller amounts of clay; south Florida marls are sometimes called lime muds.

PEAT: Partly decayed, moisture-absorbing plant matter accumulated in bogs, swamps, etc.

PREDATOR: An animal that lives by capturing other animals for food.

SLOUGH: A channel of slow-moving water in coastal marshland. The Shark River Slough and Taylor Slough are the main channels where the glades water flows in the park. Generally remaining as reservoirs of water when the glades dry in the rainless season, they are important to survival of aquatic animals.

SWAMP: Wetland characterized by shrubs or trees such as maples, gums, baldcypresses, and, in south Florida coast areas, mangroves. Fresh-water swamps are usually not covered by water the year around.

THREATENED: A species still present in its range but that, without significant changes in conditions, is capable of becoming endangered.

TREE ISLAND: An island of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants growing on an elevation, in a depression, or at the same level as the surrounding glades. Includes hammocks, willow heads, cypress heads, and bayheads.

For Reading and Reference

Ashton, Ray Jr., and Patricia Sawyer Ashton. _Handbook of Reptiles and Amphibians of Florida._ Vol. 1, _The Snakes_; Vol. 2, _Lizards, Turtles and Crocodilians_; Vol. 3, _The Amphibians_. Miami: Windward Publishing, Inc., 1981-88.

Bell, C. Ritchie, and Bryan J. Taylor. _Florida Wildflowers and Roadside Plants._ Chapel Hill: Laurel Hill Press, 1982.

Cox, W. Eugene. _In Pictures—Everglades: The Continuing Story._ Las Vegas: K. C. Publications, 1989.

Craighead, Frank C. _The Role of the Alligator in Shaping Plant Communities and Maintaining Wildlife in the Southern Everglades._ Maitland: Florida Audubon Society, 1969.

de Golia, Jack. _Everglades: The Story Behind the Scenery._ Las Vegas: K.C. Publications, 1981.

Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. _Everglades: River of Grass._ St. Simons Island, Georgia: Mockingbird Books, 1974.

Downs, Dorothy. _Miccosukee Arts and Crafts._ Miami: Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, 1982.

Hoffmeister, John Edward. _Land From Sea: The Geologic Story of South Florida._ Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1968.

Lane, James A. _A Birder’s Guide to Florida._ Denver: L&P Press, 1989.

Peterson, Roger Tory. _A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies._ Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980.

Robertson, William B. _Everglades: The Park Story._ Homestead, Florida: Florida National Parks and Monuments Association, Inc., 1989.

Romashko, Sandra. _The Shell Book._ Miami: Windward Publishing, Inc., 1984.

Stevenson, George B. _Trees of the Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys._ Miami: Banyan Books, Inc., 1984.

Tebeau, Charlton E. _Man in the Everglades._ Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1968.

Toops, Connie M. _The Alligator: Monarch of the Marsh._ Homestead, Florida: Florida National Parks and Monuments Association, Inc., 1988.

Toops, Connie. _Everglades._ Stillwater, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 1989.

Truesdell, William G. _A Guide to the Wilderness Waterway of the Everglades National Park._ Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1985.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. _Rare and Endangered Fish and Wildlife of the United States._ Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964.

Williams, Winston. _Florida’s Fabulous Waterbirds: Their Stories._ Tampa: Worldwide Printing, 1984.

Zim, Herbert S. _Everglades National Park and the Nearby Florida Keys._ New York: Golden Press, 1985.

Rare and Endangered Animals

Here is a partial list of the rare and endangered species and subspecies found in Everglades National Park and Fort Jefferson National Monument.

Mammals
Florida Panther (Cougar)
West Indian Manatee (Sea Cow)
Birds
Snail Kite
Southern Bald Eagle
Arctic Peregrine Falcon
Cape Sable Sparrow
Wood Stork
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Reptiles and Amphibians
Green Turtle
Eastern Indigo Snake
Hawksbill Turtle
Loggerhead Turtle
American Crocodile

Checklist of Mammals

More than 40 species of mammals are found in Everglades National Park. Many of them are species commonly associated with drier habitats that have adapted to the semi-aquatic environment that comprises most of the park. It is not uncommon to see whitetail deer wading through the sawgrass prairie or a bobcat foraging for food in a mangrove swamp. This list is made up of species found within the boundary of the park or in the immediate area. Species considered exotic to Everglades National Park are marked with an asterisk (*).

Opossum _Didelphis marsupialis_
Short-tailed shrew _Blarina brevicauda_
Least shrew _Cryptotis parva_
Eastern mole _Scalopus aquaticus_
Seminole bat _Lasiurus seminolus_
Florida yellow bat _Lasiurus intermedius_
Evening bat _Nycticeius hymeralis_
Brazilian free-tailed bat _Tadarida brasiliensis_
Florida mastiff bat _Eumops glaucinus_
Nine-banded armadillo _Dasypus novemcinctus_*
Marsh rabbit _Sylvilagus palustris_
Eastern cottontail _Sylvilagus floridanus_
Gray squirrel _Sciurus carolinensis_
Fox squirrel _Sciurus niger_
Southern flying squirrel _Glaucomys volans_
Rice rat _Oryzomys palustris_
Cotton mouse _Peromyscus gossypinus_
Cotton rat _Sigmodon hispisus_
Roundtail muskrat _Neofiber alleni_
Roof rat _Rattus rattus_*
Norway rat _Rattus norvegicus_
House mouse _Mus musculus_*
Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin _Tursiops truncatus_
Short-finned, or Pilot, whale _Globicephala marcorhyncha_
Gray fox _Urocyon cineroargenteus_
Red fox _Vulpes vulpes_*
Domestic dog _Canis familiaris_*
Black bear _Ursus americanus_
Raccoon _Procyon lotor_
Coati _Nasua narica_*
Everglades mink _Mustela vison_
Long-tailed weasel _Mustela frenata_
Eastern spotted skunk _Spirogale putorius_
Striped skunk _Mephitis mephitis_
River otter _Lutra canadensis_
Florida panther _Felis concolor coryi_
Bobcat _Lynx rufus_
Domestic cat _Felis domesticus_*
West Indian Manatee _Trichechus manatus_
Domestic pig _Sus scrofa_*
Whitetail deer _Odocoileus virginia_

Checklist of Birds

This is a complete list of the birds known in the park—347 species as of June 1, 1985—along with a key indicating the abundance and seasonal occurrence of each species. As noted in this list many birds are known in the park from only a few sightings. A few are exotic birds that have escaped captivity. Species considered exotic to Everglades Park are marked with an asterisk (*). Users can contribute to updating future lists by carefully recording details of their observations of less common species and reporting that information to park personnel. For purposes of this listing the seasons are as follows:

Spring: March 1 to May 31
Summer: June 1 to July 31
Fall: August 1 to November 15
Winter: November 16 to February 28

Key to Checklist
C Common
U Uncommon
R Rare
F Fewer than 10 sightings
B Breeds in park
? Uncertain if species breeds in park

Name of Bird Breeds in park Spring Summer Fall Winter

Red-throated Loon F
Common Loon R R R
Pied-billed Grebe B C U C C
Horned Grebe C C C
Red-necked Grebe F
Sooty Shearwater F
Wilson’s Storm Petrel F
Brown Booby F
Northern Gannet F F F
American White Pelican C R C C
Brown Pelican B C C C C
Great Cormorant F
Double-crested Cormorant B C C C C
Anhinga B C C C C
Magnificent Frigatebird U U U U
American Bittern ? U R U C
Least Bittern B U U U U
Great Blue Heron B C C C C
Great Blue Heron (White phase) B C C C C
Great Egret B C C C C
Snowy Egret B C C C C
Little Blue Heron B C C C C
Tricolored Heron B C C C C
Reddish Egret B U U U U
Cattle Egret B C C C C
Green-backed Heron B C C C C
Black-crowned Night Heron B C C C C
Yellow-crowned Night Heron B U U U U
White Ibis B C C C C
Scarlet Ibis (probably R R R R
escapes)
Glossy Ibis B U U U U
White-faced Ibis F
Roseate Spoonbill B C U C C
Wood Stork B U R U U
Great Flamingo (probably R R R R
escapes)
Fulvous Whistling Duck U U U U
Snow Goose F
Snow Goose (Blue Phase) F
Brant R
Canada Goose F
Wood Duck R
Green-winged Teal U R U
American Black Duck F
Mottled Duck B C C C C
Mallard R
White-checked Pintail F F
Northern Pintail C R C
Blue-winged Teal C R C C
Cinnamon Teal F
Northern Shoveler C R C C
Gadwall R R
Eurasian Wigeon F
American Wigeon C C C
Canvasback R R
Redhead R R
Ring-necked Duck C C C
Greater Scaup F
Lesser Scaup C C C
Oldsquaw F
Black Scoter F
Surf Scoter F
Common Goldeneye F
Bufflehead R
Hooded Merganser U R U
Red-breasted Merganser C R C C
Ruddy Duck U U C
Masked Duck F
Black Vulture B C C C C
Turkey Vulture B C C C C
Osprey B C C C C
American Swallow-tailed Kite B C C R
Black-shouldered Kite F F
Snail Kite B R R R R
Mississippi Kite F F
Bald Eagle B C C C C
Northern Harrier U U C
Sharp-shinned Hawk U U U
Cooper’s Hawk R R R
Red-shouldered Hawk B U R U U
Broad-winged Hawk U U U
Short-tailed Hawk B U R U U
Swainson’s Hawk R R U
Red-tailed Hawk B U U U U
Rough-legged Hawk F
Golden Eagle F
Crested Caracara F
American Kestrel C C C
Merlin U U U
Peregrine Falcon U U U
Wild Turkey B R R R R
Northern Bobwhite B C C C C
Yellow Rail F
Black Rail R
Clapper Rail B C C C C
King Rail B C C C C
Virginia Rail R R R
Sora Rail C C C
Purple Gallinule B C C C C
Common Moorhen B C C C C
American Coot B C R C C
Caribbean Coot F F F
Limpkin B C C C C
Sandhill Crane B R R R R
Black-bellied Plover C R C C
Lesser Golden Plover R R R
Snowy Plover F F
Wilson’s Plover B C C C U
Semipalmated Plover C U C C
Piping Plover U U U
Killdeer B C U C C
American Oystercatcher R
Black-necked Stilt B U R U R
American Avocet C U C C
Greater Yellowlegs C U C C
Lesser Yellowlegs C U C C
Solitary Sandpiper U U R
Willet ? C U C C
Spotted Sandpiper C C C
Upland Sandpiper F F
Whimbrel U R U U
Long-billed Curlew R R R
Hudsonian Godwit F F
Marbled Godwit C R C C
Ruddy Turnstone C U C C
Red Knot U R U U
Sanderling U U U
Semipalmated Sandpiper U U R
Western Sandpiper C R C C
Least Sandpiper C U C C
White-rumped Sandpiper R R
Baird’s Sandpiper R
Pectoral Sandpiper C C R
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper F
Dunlin C C C
Curlew Sandpiper F
Stilt Sandpiper U U R
Buff-breasted Sandpiper F
Ruff F
Short-billed Dowitcher C U C C
Long-billed Dowitcher U U U R
Common Snipe U U U
American Woodcock R R
Wilson’s Phalarope F
Red-necked Phalarope F
Parasitic Jaeger F
Laughing Gull B C C C C
Franklin’s Gull F
Bonaparte’s Gull U U
Ring-billed Gull C U C C
Herring Gull C U C C
Lesser Black-backed Gull F
Great Black-backed Gull F
Gull-billed Tern U U U U
Caspian Tern C R C C
Royal Tern C U C C
Sandwich Tern U U U U
Roseate Tern R
Common Tern U U U
Forster’s Tern C U C C
Least Tern B C C U
Bridled Tern F
Sooty Tern F F
Black Tern U U U R
Brown Noddy F F
Black Skimmer C C C C
Rock Dove* F F F F
White-crowned Pigeon B C C C U
White-winged Dove F F F F
Zenaida Dove F
Mourning Dove B C C C C
Common Ground Dove B U U U U
Key West Quail Dove F F
Budgerigar (escapes) F F
Rose-ringed Parakeet (escapes) F
Monk Parakeet (escapes) F
Canary-winged Parakeet F
(escapes)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo B C C C R
Mangrove Cuckoo B U U U U
Smooth-billed Ani B U U U U
Groove-billed Ani F F F
Common Barn Owl B U U U U
Eastern Screech Owl B C C C C
Great Horned Owl B R R R R
Burrowing Owl R
Barred Owl B C C C C
Long-eared Owl F
Short-eared Owl R R R
Lesser Nighthawk F F
Common Nighthawk B C C C R
Chuck-will’s-widow B C C C R
Whip-poor-will U U C
Chimney Swift R
Ruby-throated Hummingbird C R C C
Belted Kingfisher C R C C
Red-headed Woodpecker F
Red-bellied Woodpecker B C C C C
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker U U C
Downy Woodpecker B U U U U
Hairy Woodpecker B R R R R
Red-cockaded Woodpecker Extirpated
Northern Flicker B C C C C
Pileated Woodpecker B C C C C
Ivory-billed Woodpecker Extirpated
Olive-sided Flycatcher F
Eastern Wood Pewee U U R
Acadian Flycatcher R
Willow Flycatcher R
Least Flycatcher U U U R
Eastern Phoebe C C C
Say’s Phoebe F
Vermilion Flycatcher F F
Great Crested Flycatcher B C C C C
Brown-crested Flycatcher R R
Tropical Kingbird F F
Western Kingbird U U U
Eastern Kingbird B C C C R
Gray Kingbird B C C C
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher R R R
Purple Martin C C C
Tree Swallow C C C
Northern Rough-winged Swallow U U R
Bank Swallow U U
Cliff Swallow R U
Barn Swallow B U R C R
Blue Jay B C C C C
American Crow B C C C C
Fish Crow F
Tufted Titmouse R R
White-breasted Nuthatch F
Brown-headed Nuthatch Extirpated
Brown Creeper F
Carolina Wren B C C C C
House Wren C C C
Winter Wren F
Sedge Wren U U U
Marsh Wren U U U
Ruby-crowned Kinglet U U U
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher C C C
Eastern Bluebird Extirpated
Veery U U
Gray-cheeked Thrush U U
Swainson’s Thrush U U F
Hermit Thrush U U R
Wood Thrush R R F
American Robin R-C
Gray Catbird C C C
Northern Mockingbird B C C C C
Brown Thrasher U U U
Water Pipit R R
Cedar Waxwing R-C R-C R-C
Loggerhead Shrike B U U U U
European Starling* B U U U U
Hill Myna (probably escapes) F
Thick-billed Vireo F
White-eyed Vireo B C C C C
Bell’s Vireo F F
Solitary Vireo U U U
Yellow-throated Vireo U U U
Warbling Vireo F F
Philadelphia Vireo R R
Red-eyed Vireo C C F
Black-whispered Vireo B C C C
Blue-winged Warbler R R F
Golden-winged Warbler R R
Tennessee Warbler U U R
Orange-crowned Warbler U U U
Nashville Warbler F R F
Northern Parula C R C C
Yellow Warbler B C C C U
Chestnut-sided Warbler R R
Magnolia Warbler U U R
Cape May Warbler U-C U-C R
Black-throated Blue Warbler C C U-R
Yellow-rumped Warbler R-C R-C C
Black-throated Gray Warbler F
Black-throated Green Warbler U U U
Blackburnian Warbler U U F
Yellow-throated Warbler C U C C
Pine Warbler B C C C C
Kirtland’s Warbler F
Prairie Warbler B C C C C
Palm Warbler C C C
Bay-breasted Warbler F F
Blackpoll Warbler C R
Cerulean Warbler R
Black-and-white Warbler C C C
American Redstart C U C U
Prothonotary Warbler U U F
Worm-eating Warbler U U R
Swainson’s Warbler R R
Ovenbird C C C
Northern Waterthrush C C C
Louisiana Waterthrush C U C R
Kentucky Warbler R R F
Connecticut Warbler R
Mourning Warbler F
Common Yellowthroat B C C C C
Hooded Warbler U U F
Wilson’s Warbler R R F
Yellow-breasted Chat U U U
Bananaquit F
Stripe-headed Tanager F
Summer Tanager R R F
Scarlet Tanager F F F
Western Tanager F F F
Northern Cardinal B C C C C
Rose-breasted Grosbeak U U R
Blue Grosbeak U U F
Indigo Bunting C C R
Painted Bunting C C U-R
Dickcissel F F F
Rufous-sided Towhee B C C C C
Black-faced Grassquit F F
Bachman’s Sparrow F F F
Chipping Sparrow R R R
Clay-colored Sparrow R R R
Field Sparrow U U U
Vesper Sparrow F F F
Lark Sparrow F F
Lark Bunting F F
Savannah Sparrow C C C
Grasshopper Sparrow U U U
Le Conte’s Sparrow F
Sharp-tailed Sparrow R R U
Seaside Sparrow R
Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow B C C C C
Song Sparrow F
Lincoln’s Sparrow R-U
Swamp Sparrow C C C
White-throated Sparrow F F
White-crowned Sparrow R F
Dark-eyed Junco F F
Bobolink C C F
Red-winged Blackbird B C C C C
Eastern Meadowlark B C C C C
Yellow-headed Blackbird R R R
Rusty Blackbird F
Brewer’s Blackbird R
Boat-tailed Grackle B C C C C
Common Grackle B C C C C
Bronzed Cowbird F
Brown-headed Cowbird U U R
Orchard Oriole U U
Spot-breasted Oriole F
Northern Oriole (Baltimore C C R
race)
Northern Oriole (Bullock’s R R R
race)
Pine Siskin F
American Goldfinch C C C
House Sparrow* B U U U U

Checklists of Reptiles and Amphibians

More than 50 species of reptiles, including 26 species of snakes and 16 species of turtles, have been found in Everglades National Park. The reptiles include, of course, the alligator, which is the symbol of the Everglades. Less conspicuous than the reptiles are the 18 species of amphibians that live here. Many are nocturnal. These lists represent species found within the park or nearby. Species considered exotic to Everglades National Park are marked with an asterisk (*).

Reptiles

American crocodile _Crocodylus acutus_
American alligator _Alligator mississippiensis_
Florida snapping turtle _Chelydra serpentina_
Striped mud turtle _Kinosternum bauri_
Stinkpot _Sternotherus odoratus_
Florida box turtle _Terrapene carolina_
Diamondback terrapin _Malaclemys terrapin_
Peninsula cooter _Chrysemys floridanis_
Florida redbelly turtle _Chrysemys nelsoni_
Florida chicken turtle _Deirochelys reticularia_
Gopher tortoise _Gopherus polyphemus_
Atlantic green turtle _Chelonia mydas_
Atlantic hawksbill _Eretmochelys imbricata_
Atlantic loggerhead _Caretta caretta_
Atlantic ridley _Lepidochelys kempi_
Florida softshell _Trionyx ferox_
Indopacific gecko _Hemidactylus garnoti_*
Florida reef gecko _Shpaerodactylus notatus_
Green anole _Anolis carolinensis_
Brown anole _Anolis sagrai_*
Knight anole _Anolis equestris_*
Common iguana _Iguana iguana_*
Ground skink _Scincella lateralis_
Eastern glass lizard _Ophisaurus ventralis_
Island glass lizard _Ophisaurus compressus_
Florida green water snake _Nerodia cyclopion_
Brown water snake _Nerodia taxispilota_
Florida water snake _Nerodia fasciata pictiventris_
Mangrove salt marsh snake _Nerodia fasciata compressicauda_
South Florida swamp snake _Seminatrix pygaea_
Florida brown snake _Stoeria dekayi_
Eastern garter snake _Thamnophis sirtalis_
Peninsula ribbon snake _Thamnophis sauritus_
Striped crayfish snake _Regina alleni_
Eastern hognose snake _Heterodon platyrhinos_
Southern ringneck snake _Diadopis punctatus_
Eastern mud snake _Farancia abacura_
Everglades racer _Coluber constrictor_
Eastern coachwhip _Masticophis flagellum_
Rough green snake _Opheodrys aestivus_
Eastern indigo _Drymarchon corais_
Corn snake _Elaphe guttata_
Everglades rat snake _Elaphe obsoleta_
Yellow rat snake _Elaphe obsoleta quadrivitatta_
Florida kingsnake _Lampropeltis getulus_
Scarlet kingsnake _Lampropeltis triangulum_
Florida scarlet snake _Cemophora coccinea_
Eastern coral snake _Micrurus fulvius_
Florida cottonmouth _Agkistrodon piscivorus_
Dusky pygmy rattlesnake _Sistrurus miliarius_
Eastern diamondback _Crotalus adamanteus_

Amphibians

Two-toed amphiuma _Amphiuma means_
Greater siren _Siren lacertina_
Everglades dwarf siren _Pseudobranchus striatus belli_
Peninsula newt _Notophthalmus viridescens_
Eastern spadefoot toad _Scaphiophus holbrooki_
Greenhouse frog _Eleuthrodactylus planirostris_*
Southern toad _Bufo terrestris_
Oak toad _Bufo quercicus_
Florida cricket frog _Acris gryllus_
Green treefrog _Hyla cinerea_
Squirrel treefrog _Hyla squirella_
Cuban treefrog _Osteopilus septentrionalis_*
Little grass frog _Limneaodus ocularis_
Florida chorus frog _Pseudacris nigrita_
Eastern narrow-mouth toad _Gastrophyne carolinesis_
Pig frog _Rana grylio_
Southern leopard frog _Rana spenocephala_

Checklist of Trees and Tree-like Plants

A tree is defined here as a woody plant at least 12 feet high with a single trunk 2 inches or more in diameter at breast height. A tree-like plant is one with the general shape and size of a tree, but one which is not woody or otherwise fails to meet the definition. The arrangement of families is generally the same as that of Small’s _Manual of Southeastern Flora_ (1933) and Long and Lakela’s _A Flora of Tropical Florida_ (1971). Genera and species are listed alphabetically in each family. Nomenclature follows Avery and Loope, _Plants of Everglades National Park: A Preliminary Checklist of Vascular Plants_ (1983). In the checklist, the introduced species are followed by a symbol, key below, that describes the plants’ success in the Everglades. Native plants list only their name.

We Well established. An exotic plant that has become widely
naturalized, with a large population.
Sl Slightly naturalized. An exotic plant that has a small foothold,
often found near a mature tree that acts as a seed source.
Pr Persistent. An exotic plant that goes on living for a long time
after it is planted, and that may appear to be native or
naturalized.
Sm Small, rarely tree-sized. A plant that may sometimes become a
tree, but that often does not meet the definition.
Cu Cultivated only. Known only as a cultivated species, but which is
retained on this list because either Small or Long and Lakela
treat it as native or naturalized.

PINE FAMILY: _PINACEAE_
South Florida Slash Pine _Pinus elliottii_ var. _densa_

BALD CYPRESS FAMILY: _TAXODIACEAE_
Pond cypress _Taxodium ascendens_
Bald cypress _Taxodium distichum_

PALM FAMILY: _ARECACEAE_
Paurotis palm _Acoelorraphe wrightii_
Silver palm _Coccothrinax argentata_
Coconut _Cocos nucifera_ Sl
Royal palm _Roystonea elata_
Cabbage palm _Sabal palmetto_
Saw palmetto _Serenoa repens_
Thatch palm _Thrinax radiata_

CENTURY PLANT FAMILY: _AGAVACEAE_
False sisal _Agave decipiens_
Sisal _Agave sisalana_ We
Spanish dagger _Yucca aloifolia_

BANANA FAMILY: _MUSACEAE_
Banana _Musaceae musa_ × _paradisiaca_

BEEFWOOD FAMILY: _CASUARINACEAE_
Australian-pine _Casuarina equisetifolia_ We
Suckering Australian-pine _Casuarina glauca_ Pr

WILLOW FAMILY: _SALIACACEAE_
Willow _Salix caroliniana_

BAYBERRY FAMILY: _MYRICACEAE_
Wax-myrtle _Myrica cerifera_

OAK FAMILY: _FAGACEAE_
Laurel oak _Quercus laurifolia_
Live oak _Quercus virginiana_

ELM FAMILY: _ULMACEAE_
Hackberry _Celtis laevigata_
West Indian trema _Trema lamarckianum_
Florida trema _Trema micranthum_

MULBERRY FAMILY: _MORACEAE_
Strangler fig _Ficus aurea_
Shortleaf fig _Ficus citrifolia_
Red mulberry _Morus rubra_

XIMENIA FAMILY: _OLACACEAE_
Graytwig _Schoepfia chrysophylloides_
Tallowwood _Ximenia americana_

BUCKWHEAT FAMILY: _POLYGONACEAE_
Pigeon plum _Coccoloba diversifolia_
Sea grape _Coccoloba uvifera_

FOUR-O-CLOCK FAMILY: _NYCTAGINACEAE_
Blolly _Guapira discolor_
Push-and-hold-back _Pisonia aculeata_

MAGNOLIA FAMILY: _MAGNOLIACEAE_
Sweet bay _Magnolia virginiana_

CUSTARD-APPLE FAMILY: _ANNONACEAE_
Pond apple _Annona glabra_

LAUREL FAMILY: _LAURACEAE_
Lancewood _Nectandra coriacea_
Red-bay _Persea borbonia_
Avocado _Persea americana_ var. _americana_

CAPER FAMILY: _CAPPARACEAE_
Jamaica caper _Capparis cynophallophora_
Limber caper _Capparis flexuosa_ Sm

ROSE FAMILY: _ROSACEAE_
West Indian cherry _Prunus myrtifolia_

COCO-PLUM FAMILY: _CHRYSOBALANACEAE_
Coco-plum _Chrysobalanus icaco_

PEA FAMILY: _FABACEAE_
Sweet acacia _Acacia farnesiana_
_Acacia pinetorum_ Sm
Shy leaf _Aeschynomene americana_ var. _americana_
_Aeschynomene pratensis_ var. _pratensis_
Women’s tongue _Albizia lebbeck_ Sl
Orchid tree _Bauhinia purpurea_ Sl
_Cassia aspera_
Bahama senna _Cassia Chapmanii_
_Cassia deeringiana_
Golden shower _Cassia fistula_ Pr
_Cassia ligustrina_
Sickle-pod _Cassia obtusifolia_
_Dalbergia brownei_
Royal ponciana _Delonix regia_
Coral-bean _Erythrina herbacea_
Jumbie bean _Leucaena leucocephala_ Sl
Wild tamarind _Lysiloma latisiliquum_
Jamaica dogwood _Piscidia piscipula_
Black-bead _Pithecellobium guadalupense_
Cat’s claw _Pithecellobium unguis-cati_
Necklace pod _Sophora tomentosa_

RUE FAMILY: _RUTACEAE_
_Citrus_ spp. Pr
Wild lime _Zanthoxylum fagara_

AILANTHUS FAMILY: _SIMAROUBACEAE_
_Alvaradoa amorphoides_
Paradise-tree _Simarouba glauca_

BAY CEDAR FAMILY: _SURIANACEAE_
Bay cedar _Suriana maritima_ Sm

BURSERA FAMILY: _BURSERACEAE_
Gumbo-limbo _Bursera simaruba_

MAHOGANY FAMILY: _MELIACEAE_
Mahogany _Swietenia mahagoni_

MALPIGHIA FAMILY: _MALPIGHIACEAE_
Locust-berry _Brysonima lucida_

SPURGE FAMILY: _EUPHORBIACEAE_
Crabwood _Ateramnus lucidus_
_Bischofia javanica_ Sl
Milk Bark _Drypetes diversifolia_
Guiana-plum _Drypetes lateriflora_
Manchineel _Hippomane mancinella_

CASHEW FAMILY: _ANACARDIACEAE_
Poisonwood _Metopium toxiferum_
Southern sumac _Rhus copallina_ var. _leucantha_
Brazilian-pepper _Schinus terebinthifolius_ We
Hogplum _Spondias purpurea_

HOLLY FAMILY: _AQUIFOLIACEAE_
Dahoon _Ilex cassine_
Tawnyberry holly _Ilex krugiana_

BITTERSWEET FAMILY: _CELASTRACEAE_
Ground holly _Crossopetalum ilicifolium_ Sm
Rhacoma _Crossopetalum rhacoma_ Sm
Guttapercha mayten _Maytenus phyllanthoides_

MAPLE FAMILY: _ACERACEAE_
Red maple _Acer rubum_

SOAPBERRY FAMILY: _SAPINDACEAE_
Varnish-leaf _Dodonaea viscose_ var. _linearis_
Inkwood _Exothea paniculata_
White ironwood _Hypelate trifoliata_
Spanish lime _Melicoccus bijugatus_ Pr
Soapberry _Sapindus saponaria_

BUCKTHORN FAMILY: _RHAMNACEAE_
Coffee colubrina _Colubrina arborescens_
_Colubrina asiatica_
Cuban colubrina _Colubrina cubensis_ Sm
Black ironwood _Krugiodendron ferreum_

ELAEOCARPUS FAMILY: _ELAEOCARPACEAE_
Strawberry-tree _Muntinoia calabura_ Pr

MALLOW FAMILY: _MALVACEAE_
Wild cotton _Gossypium hirsutum_
_Hibiscus rosa-sinensis_ Pr
Turk’s cap _Malvaviscus arboreus_ var. _mexicanus_
Cork tree _Thespesia populnea_

CANELLA FAMILY: _CANELLACEAE_
Wild-cinnamon _Cannela winterana_

PAPAYA FAMILY: _CARICACEAE_
Papaya _Carica papaya_

CACTUS FAMILY: _CACTACEAE_
Prickly apple _Cereus gracilus_ var. _simpsonii_
Dildo _Cereus pentagonus_

MANGROVE FAMILY: _RHIZOPHORACEAE_
Red mangrove _Rhizophora mangle_

COMBRETUM FAMILY: _COMBRETACEAE_
Black olive _Bucida buceras_ Pr
Buttonwood _Conocarpus erectus_
White mangrove _Laguncularia racemosa_
Indian almond _Terminalia catappa_ Pr

MYRTLE FAMILY: _MYRTACEAE_
Bottlebrush _Callistemon viminalis_ Pr
Spicewood _Calyptranthes pallens_ var. _pallens_
Myrtle-of-the-river _Calyptranthes zuzygium_
White stopper _Eugenia axillaris_
Spanish stopper _Eugenia foetida_
Cajeput _Melaleuca quinquenervia_ Sl
Simpson stopper _Myrcianthes fragans_ var. _simpsonii_
Guava _Psidium guajava_ We
Long-stalked stopper _Psidium longipes_ var. _longipes_ Sm

MEADOW-BEAUTY FAMILY: _MELASTOMATACEAE_
Spanish leather _Tetrazygia bicolor_

JOE-WOOD FAMILY: _THEOPHRASTACEAE_
Joe-wood _Jacquinia keyensis_

MYRSINE FAMILY: _MYRSINACEAE_
Marlberry _Ardisia escallonioides_
Shoebutton ardisia _Ardisia solanacea_ We
Myrsine _Myrsine floridana_

SAPODILLA FAMILY: _SAPOTACEAE_
Saffron-plum _Bumelia celastrina_
_Bumelia reclinata_ var. _reclinata_ Sm
Willow bustic _Bumelia salicifolia_
Satin leaf _Chrysophyllum oliviforme_
Wild dilly _Manilkara bahamensis_
Mastic _Mastichodendron foetidissimum_

EBONY FAMILY: _EBENACEAE_
Persimmon _Diospyros virginiana_

OLIVE FAMILY: _OLEACEAE_
Wild-olive _Forestiera segregata_ var. _pinetorum_ Sm
Florida-privet _Forestiera segregata_ var. _segregata_ Sm
Pop ash _Fraxinus caroliniana_

DOGBANE FAMILY: _APOCYNACEAE_
_Thevetia peruviana_ Pr
Pearl-berry _Vallesia antillana_

BORAGE FAMILY: _BORAGINACEAE_
Smooth strongbark _Bourreria cassinifolia_
Strongbark _Bourreria ovata_
Geiger-tree _Cordia sebestena_

BLACK MANGROVE FAMILY: _AVICENNIACEAE_
Black Mangrove _Avicennia germinans_

VERBENA FAMILY: _VERBENACEAE_
Fiddlewood _Citharexylum fructicosum_
Java Glory-bowers _Cleradendrum speciosissimum_

POTATO FAMILY: _SOLANACEAE_
Potato tree _Solanum erianthum_

MADDER FAMILY: _RUBIACEAE_
Seven-year-apple _Casasia clusiifolia_
Buttonbush _Cephalanthus occidentalis_
Black torch _Erithalis fruticosa_ Sm
Velvet seed _Guettarda elliptica_
Rough velvet-seed _Guettarda scabra_
Firebush _Hamelia patens_
Indigo-berry _Randia aculeata_ Sm

HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY: _CAPRIFOLIACEAE_
Southern elderberry _Sambucus canadensis_

ASTER FAMILY: _ASTERACEAE_
Groundsel-tree _Baccharis glomeruliflora_ Sm
Groundsel-tree _Baccharis halimifolia_ Sm

Handbook 143

The National Park Service expresses its appreciation to all those persons who made the preparation and production of this handbook possible. Special thanks are extended to Frank Craighead, Sr., Pat Miller, Bill Robertson, and Saul Schiffman, who read the manuscript and provided much useful information. The checklists were compiled over many years by various members of the Everglades National Park staff. The Service also gratefully acknowledges the financial support given this handbook project by the Everglades Natural History Association, a nonprofit group that assists interpretive efforts at the park. The cover photograph is by Glenn van Nimwegen.

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interest of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration.

Transcriber’s Notes

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.

—Relocated all image captions to be immediately under the corresponding
images, removing redundant references like ”preceding page”.

—Silently corrected a few palpable typos.

—Added “Glossary” to the Table of Contents

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.

End of Project Gutenberg's Everglades Wildguide, by Jean Craighead George