One pretty good indication that this land was never developed is the presence of sand pines like the ones that dominate Pondhawk Natural Area's section of scrubby flatwoods. The cones of sand pines require the heat of a fire in order to release their seeds, so these trees are the product of a blaze decades ago. Had this land been cleared at any time, more than likely we'd be looking at a forest of slash pines instead. As you can see in the photo, there is still some scrubby vegetation in the understory, particularly saw palmetto, but the canopy is thick with some fairly mature sand pines. NEXT PHOTO.
