Physiognomy and Structure: The vegetation of this alliance occurs as a narrow band of evergreen hardwood forest and tall evergreen shrubland lying just inland of the coastal dune system in south Florida.

Floristics: The vegetation is characterized by hardwood species with tropical affinities. Some tree species common to this type include Bursera simaruba, Coccoloba uvifera, Eugenia foetida, Ficus aurea, Guapira discolor, Sabal palmetto, Serenoa repens, and Sideroxylon foetidissimum. The northern extent of this type is limited by periodic freezes and cold-tolerance of tropical constituent species, such as Piscidia piscipula, Guapira discolor, Exothea paniculata, and Eugenia axillaris (Johnson and Muller 1993a). The communities in southeast Florida are distinguished from those in southwest Florida by two frequently occurring trees, Guapira discolor and Exothea paniculata. In addition, they are substantially richer floristically than southwestern coast hammocks. Other species occurring in eastern coast hammocks but not western coast examples include Amyris elemifera, Coccothrinax argentata, Krugiodendron ferreum, Metopium toxiferum, Nectandra coriacea, and Simarouba glauca. The very diverse canopy can be dominated or codominated by many species not included in the name, including Coccoloba diversifolia, Coccoloba uvifera, Exothea paniculata, Sabal palmetto, Simarouba glauca, and others.

Dynamics:  These forests are prone to disturbance from hurricanes, which can include extremely high winds, salt spray, and saltwater storm surge. Winter freezes sometimes occur which can damage the tropical woody plants that characterize this vegetation.