DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Cladium jamaicense | Sawgrass 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Sawgrass is most extensive in southern Florida, but it occurs in all the
southeastern Coast States and Gulf States.  Its range extends from
coastal Virginia to Florida and west to southeastern Texas.  It is also
native to the West Indies.  An outlying population grows in Guadalupe
Mountains National Park, Texas [10,29].  Sawgrass is also native to
Hawaii [31].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES16  Oak - gum - cypress
   FRES41  Wet grasslands


STATES : 
     AL  FL  GA  HI  LA  MS  NC  SC  TX  VA


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     BICY  BITH  CAHA  CALO  CUIS  EVER
     GUMO  GUIS  JELA


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K073  Northern cordgrass prairie
   K078  Southern cordgrass prairie
   K080  Marl - everglades
   K091  Cypress savanna
   K092  Everglades


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   101  Baldcypress
   106  Mangrove


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Kushlan [14] speculated that sawgrass-dominated communities once covered
nearly 2 million acres (800,000 ha) of the Everglades.  Although
sawgrass stands have declined due to reduced water flows and increased
salinity, they still dominate approximately 65 to 70 percent of the
remaining Everglades.  Sawgrass marshes have been classified into two
general catagories: (1) dense stands occurring in shallow water
underlain by deep organic soils and (2) sparse stands occurring in deep
water on shallow peat or marl [14].  Dense stands appear monospecific
but often include other tall emergents.  Sparse stands often include
considerable amounts of spikerush (Eleocharis spp.), arrowhead
(Sagittaria latifolia, S. lancifolia), and maidencane (Panicum
hemitomon).

Published classifications describing sawgrass community types (cts)
include:

    Area                Classification               Authority

FL: Everglades        general veg. cts         Loveless 1959
se LA                 marshland veg. cts       Penfound & Hathaway 1938

Loveless [15] found that the sawgrass-arrowhead-maidencane community
type was the most extensive in the Everglades and covered vast areas of
marsh.  Common associates in sawgrass-dominated freshwater marshes in
southeastern Louisiana include cattail (Typha angustifolia, T.
latifilia) and giant bulrush (Scirpus californicus) [29].

Related categories for Species: Cladium jamaicense | Sawgrass