Acorn Hammock Trail

Marshall Hampton Reserve is located on the north east edge of Lake Hancock. The Reserve has oak hammock areas, hardwood forest wetlands, and a 60 acre pond. Cypress domes are freshwater swamps that contain water at some point in the year. The leaves of the Cypress trees are lost in the winter, but they come back in the spring. The flatwood community is dominated by pines. There are many plants in the understory, including saw palmetto, fetterbush, and frostweed aster. The hammock community contains remnant parts of wet, mesic and scrubby flatwoods. The absence of fire in these systems allows the large trees to shade out the smaller plants, which is a problem for oaks.