A Dry, Dry Land

More than half of Seabranch Preserve State Park is sand pine scrub or scrubby flatwoods, among the driest habitats in Florida. The land here gets soaked in summer, just like the rest of South Florida. What makes this land so dry is the soil: it's mostly sand, the remnants of an ancient beach dune. It can't hold the rain that falls here, which, instead, seeps quickly through the ground. It's also a little hotter than other habits because of the lack of shade and reflection off the white surface. The plants that live here either have to have deep roots or other have adaptations to survive the hot, dry conditions.

NEXT STOP: A BAYGALL, NOT A BAGEL

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