The Florida longleaf pine sandhill is a forest system found on

sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and b ...

s in the coastal plains of northern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, ranging from the panhandle to the central peninsula. Particular examples can be found in

Ocala National Forest The Ocala National Forest is the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers of North Central Florida. It is located east of Ocala, Florida, Ocala and southeast of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The ...

Withlacoochee State Forest The Withlacoochee State Forest is in the western central part in the US state of Florida, near Lecanto, Inverness, Floral City, Brooksville, Ridge Manor, and Dade City. The forest was named for the Withlacoochee River, which passes thro ...

, Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park, and

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...

. These forests consist of stands of longleaf pine (''

Pinus palustris The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

'') on very well-drained, sandy hills. The stands are maintained by frequent fires. Turkey oak (''

Quercus laevis ''Quercus laevis'', the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is native to the southeastern United States. The name turkey oak derives from the resemblance of the leaves to a turkey's foot. A Turkish and southern European spe ...

''), myrtle oak (''

Quercus myrtifolia ''Quercus myrtifolia'', the myrtle oak, is a North American species of oak. It is native to the southeastern United States (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina). It is often found in coastal areas on sandy soils. It is an ev ...

''), and gopher apple ('' Licania michauxii'') are common in the understory; wiregrass ('' Aristida beyrichiana'') makes up the ground layer.

References

{{reflist

References

See also