Everglades Wildguide

by Jean Craighead George
Illustrations by Betty Fraser

The Natural History of Everglades National Park, Florida

Produced by the
Division of Publications
National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington, D.C. 1988

About This Book

Here is the story of the plants and animals of the Everglades, this country’s subtropical kingdom. Plants and animals found nowhere else in the 50 states are found here in abundance, though in an increasingly perilous state. In this handbook, first published in 1972, author and researcher Jean Craighead George brings to the telling of this story long years of study and understanding. Checklists and glossaries at the back buttress her account of the natural history of this national park.

National Park Handbooks, compact introductions to the great natural and historic places administered by the National Park Service, are published to support the National Park Service’s management programs at the parks and to promote understanding and enjoyment of the parks. Each is intended to be informative reading and a useful guide before, during, and after a park visit. More than 100 titles are in print. This is Handbook 143. You may purchase the handbooks through the mail by writing to Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

Library of Congress card number: 73-600077 ISBN 0-912627-29-8

★GPO: 1987—181-917/60504

[Preface] vii [America’s Subtropical Wonderland] 1 [Pine Rockland] 7 [Tree-Island Glades] 12 [Mangrove Swamp] 16 [Florida Bay and the Coastal Prairie] 21 [Big Cypress Swamp] 26 [Plant-and-Animal Communities] 29 [Tropical Hardwood Hammock] 30 [Cypress Head] 35 [Bayhead] 38 [Willow Head] 40 [Web of Life in the Marsh] 42 [Alligator Hole in the Glades] 45 [Discovering Everglades Plants and Animals] 49 [Air Plants] 52 [Mammals] 59 [Birds] 64 [Reptiles and Amphibians] 70 [Fishes] 72 [Animals without Backbones] 75 [Indians of the Everglades] 77 [Appendix] 80 [Glossary] 81 [For Reading and Reference] 84 [Rare and Endangered Animals] 86 [Checklist of Mammals] 87 [Checklist of Birds] 88 [Checklist of Reptiles and Amphibians] 96 [Checklist of Trees] 98

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK
[High-resolution Map]