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CEGL007008 Metopium toxiferum - Eugenia foetida - Coccoloba uvifera - Leucothrinax morrisii / Erithalis fruticosa Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Florida Poisontree - Boxleaf Stopper - Sea-grape - Key Thatch Palm / Blacktorch Forest
Colloquial Name: Lower Keys Rockland Hammock
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community is a low (4-7 m in height), xeric forest with occasional emergent trees, occurring over limestone. It occurs in the lower portion of the Florida Keys, ranging from Big Pine Key to Boca Grande. Vegetation is dense with an abundance of low, branching stems. The tallest trees are typically Leucothrinax morrisii, Metopium toxiferum, Conocarpus erectus, Pinus elliottii var. densa and Guapira discolor. Other common trees include Manilkara jaimiqui ssp. emarginata, Piscidia piscipula, Eugenia foetida, Eugenia axillaris, Jacquinia keyensis, and Myrsine cubana. Canopy species, as well as Erithalis fruticosa, Byrsonima lucida, Ernodea littoralis, Chiococca parvifolia, and Randia aculeata may also occur as shrubs in the understory. Only a few shade-tolerant herbs are found beneath the dense forest cover.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This community occurs on elevated outcroppings of Miami Limestone in the lower portion of the Florida Keys, ranging from Big Pine Key to Boca Grande.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is a low, xeric forest (4-7 m) with occasional emergent trees, occurring over limestone. Vegetation is dense with an abundance of low, branching stems. The tallest trees are typically Leucothrinax morrisii (= Thrinax morrisii), Metopium toxiferum, Conocarpus erectus, Pinus elliottii var. densa, and Guapira discolor. Other common trees include Manilkara jaimiqui ssp. emarginata, Piscidia piscipula, Eugenia foetida, Eugenia axillaris, Jacquinia keyensis, and Myrsine cubana (= Myrsine floridana). Canopy species, as well as Erithalis fruticosa, Byrsonima lucida, Ernodea littoralis, Chiococca parvifolia, and Randia aculeata, may also occur as shrubs in the understory. Only a few shade-tolerant herbs are found beneath the dense forest cover. Rare plants reported from this community include Cupania glabra, Pisonia rotundata, Clusia rosea, Gyminda latifolia, Thrinax radiata, Leucothrinax morrisii, Jacquinia keyensis, Sophora tomentosa, and Bourreria radula. Exotic plants include Casuarina equisetifolia, Bischofia javanica, Schefflera actinophylla, Colubrina asiatica, and Schinus terebinthifolius.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community occurs on elevated outcroppings of Miami Limestone. This oolitic limestone is highly porous and holds rainwater, allowing development of a freshwater lens. Areas that support this community are 60-90 cm (2-3 feet) above sea level and have thin, organic soils. Local gradients of elevation and saline influence are important environmental factors that affect the vegetation structure and species composition in these communities.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in the lower portion of the Florida Keys, ranging from Big Pine Key to Boca Grande.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: FL
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685327
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.A Tropical Forest & Woodland Subclass | S17 | 1.A |
| Formation | 1.A.1 Tropical Dry Forest & Woodland Formation | F003 | 1.A.1 |
| Division | 1.A.1.Ea Caribbean-Mesoamerican Dry Forest & Woodland Division | D099 | 1.A.1.Ea |
| Macrogroup | 1.A.1.Ea.2 Gumbo Limbo - Tie-tongue - Stopper species Caribbean Coastal Lowland Dry Forest Macrogroup | M134 | 1.A.1.Ea.2 |
| Group | 1.A.1.Ea.2.b Gumbo Limbo - Tie-tongue - White Stopper Forest Group | G765 | 1.A.1.Ea.2.b |
| Alliance | A2030 Gumbo Limbo - Tie-tongue - White Stopper Forest Alliance | A2030 | 1.A.1.Ea.2.b |
| Association | CEGL007008 Florida Poisontree - Boxleaf Stopper - Sea-grape - Key Thatch Palm / Blacktorch Forest | CEGL007008 | 1.A.1.Ea.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = ESU 10--Low Productivity Rockland Hammock (Ross et al. 1992)
< IA10a. Keys Hammock Forest (Allard 1990) [one of two parts]
< IA10a. Keys Hammock Forest (Allard 1990) [one of two parts]
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Duever, L. C. 1984a. Natural communities of Florida''s rocklands. Palmetto, April 1984:8-11.
- FNAI [Florida Natural Areas Inventory]. 2010a. Guide to the natural communities of Florida: 2010 edition. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, FL. 228 pp. [https://fnai.org/naturalcommguide.cfm]
- Kruer, C. R. 1992. An assessment of Florida''s remaining coastal and upland natural communities: Florida Keys. The Nature Conservancy, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee. 33 pp. plus appendices.
- McGuire, R. J., Jr., and L. N. Brown. 1974. A phytosociological analysis of two subtropical hammocks on Elliot Key, Dade County, Florida. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 90:125-131.
- Ross, M. S., J. J. O''Brien, and L. J. Flynn. 1992. Ecological site classification of Florida Keys terrestrial habitats. Biotropica 24:488-502.
- Snyder, J. R., A. Herndon, and W. B. Robertson, Jr. 1990. South Florida rockland. Pages 230-277 in: R. L. Myers and J. J. Ewel, editors. Ecosystems of Florida. University of Central Florida Press, Orlando.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Tomlinson, P. B. 1986a. The biology of trees native to tropical Florida. Harvard University Printing Office, Allston, MA. 480 pp.