A Cabbage Palm Hammock

Dupuis Wildlife and Environmental Area is full of pine flatwoods, places where slash pines dominate the canopy, but this cabbage palm hammock caught our eye. Toward the end of the road, mixed hardwood forests pop up, usually an indication of slightly higher terrain. These are places usually with a mix of live oaks and cabbage palms, and plenty of shade. Here, there are only cabbage palms (aka sabal palmetto) save for a slash pine or two and plenty of sunlight shining through to the understory. Note the burn scars on the trunks of the cabbage palms, almost certainly the result of a prescribed burn. Cabbage palms, Florida's state tree, are well adapted to survive low intensity fires that would periodically sweep through the area under natural conditions.

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