Physiognomy and Structure: This group has long been noted for its unique and interesting vegetation by authors such as Vignoles (1823), Harper (1914), Mulvania (1931), Kurz (1942), and Laessle (1958, 1968). More recent treatments by Myers (1990) and Menges (1999) have provided the most comprehensive summaries of scrub available. According to Harper (1927), "the vegetation is mostly dwarfed, gnarled and crooked, and presents a tangled, scraggly aspect." The appearance, floristics, and boundary of Florida scrub contrast dramatically with the "high pine" or sandhill vegetation which is often adjacent (Laessle 1968).

Floristics: The vegetation of this group is dominated by xeromorphic, evergreen shrub species. The shrub layer composition is relatively constant, as is the abundance of individual species. Quercus myrtifolia, Quercus inopina, Serenoa repens, Quercus geminata, Quercus chapmanii, Lyonia ferruginea, and Ceratiola ericoides are the most important species. Myers (1990) indicates that much of the variability in Florida scrub is due to variation in fire-return interval, ranging from once every 10 to 100 years. Ground cover is always sparse but typically includes Licania michauxii, Rhynchospora megalocarpa, Andropogon floridanus, and a variety of lichens (Cladonia species). There are a number of endemic plant species which may occur in inland Florida scrubs, including at least 13 Federally listed species; many of the rarest scrub species are found only in the Lake Wales region.

Dynamics:  Florida scrub is naturally prone to fire and supports plants and animals that benefit from fire. In fact, scrub is maintained by high-intensity, infrequent fires. Litter-fall rates are high, while turnover rates are low, contributing to fuel buildup (Lugo and Zucca 1983, Schmalzer and Hinkle 1996). However, scrub typically lacks dense fine-textured grassy fuels necessary for fires to start; most scrub fires ignite in other adjacent habitats. If fire spreads into scrub, it is generally only under severe conditions of high wind, low humidity, and low fuel moisture. When fires occur in scrub, the shrub layer is typically killed back to ground layer but rapidly resprouts and eventually returns to prefire levels of cover (Abrahamson 1984, Schmalzer and Hinkle 1992b). Other species such as Ceratiola ericoides may regenerate from seeds stored in soil (Johnson 1982). Several narrowly endemic herb species exhibit peaks in survival, recruitment, and density after fire (Menges 1999). Many scrub fires burn heterogeneously with resulting patches of unburned fuels, especially in the most xeric types such as Ceratiola ericoides scrub (Menges 1994). Patches of Ceratiola ericoides may not survive if burned more than once in 20 years (Johnson 1982). In the sustained absence of fire, smaller shrubs and herbs may be lost as a consequence of increasing dominance of oak stems (Menges et al. 1993).