If a fire has passed through the pineland recently, you may notice that while most of the low-growing plants have been killed, some, such as the saw-palmetto, are sending up new green shoots. The thick, stubby stem of the palmetto lies in a pothole, with its roots in the soil that has accumulated there; even in the dry season the pocket in the limestone remains damp, for water is never very far below the surface in this region. When fire kills the top of the plant, the stem and roots survive, and the palmetto, like the pine, remains a part of the plant community. A number of other plants of the south Florida pinelands have adapted to the conditions of periodic burning. Coontie (a cycad, from the underground stems of which the Indians made flour) and moon vine (a morningglory) are among many you will see surviving pineland fires severe enough to result in the death or stunting of the hardwood seedlings and saplings. Sometimes we forget that fire—like water, wind, and sunlight—is a natural force that operates with the others to influence the evolution of plants as well as to shape the landscape. The pineland, like other plant communities, has its own community of animals. Some of its residents, such as the cotton mouse, opossum, and raccoon, are found in other communities of the park, too. Some of the pineland animals, however—pine warbler, reef gecko, and five-lined skink, for example—are particularly adapted to this environment. These lovers of sunlight are dependent, like the pine forest, on the occasional natural or manmade fires that hold back the hardwood trees. The pine rockland is quite different from the other plant-and-animal communities you will see as you drive through the park: it is the only ecosystem you can explore on foot in any season. Other parts of the park are largely flooded during the wet season. Elevated boardwalks have been provided in some of these areas to enable you to penetrate them a short distance from the road. As you will see, fire plays an important role in some of the other Everglades communities, too. Tree-island Glades (_elevation: 1 to 3 feet above sea level_) [Illustration: Tree-island Glade] BAYHEAD WILLOW HEAD SAWGRASS PINE DWARF CYPRESS FOREST ALLIGATOR HOLE CYPRESS HEAD [Illustration: PIG FROG one-third life size] [Illustration: GREEN TREEFROG one-third life size] [Illustration: SQUIRREL TREEFROG color variation]