Florida Outdoors Freshwater Habitats Cypress Swamps Cypress swamps are the most common freshwater swamps in the state. They take the form of ponds or strands.
Ponds have cypress trees growing in or around a depression.
Viewed from a distance many ponds have a dome like appearance with the tallest trees near the center. Strands form in areas where the depression is longer than it is wide. Typically, the strand is long and narrow looking like a tree filled river and having the tallest trees in the deepest part of the depression. Cypress swamps exist where water levels fluctuate. Since the seeds are incapable of germinating where there is standing water, these wetlands are usually not wet all year.