They are drought and frost resistant and can endure light shade and slight salt exposure. Definitive plants are sand pine, scrub oaks, rosemary, tallowwood, garberia, scrub palmetto and reindeer moss. This community develops from Sandhill and Scrub that has escaped burning for a long time. Soils are more moisture-retentive and fertile as organic matter content has increased, and these plants are not only more tolerant of these conditions but require them. Xeric hammock plants are frost-resistant and more tolerant of shading, and coexist with the remnants of the previous community.
Salt tolerance is negligible.
Characteristic plants are sand live and post oaks, scrub hickory, tree sparkleberry, black cherry, wild olive and fetterbush. Largely converted to farmland and pasture, this community is dominated by pines in the early stages of succession, and hardwoods in the later stages. Upland forest plants are unaffected by severe freezes, most tolerate shading when young, and need soils with good nutrient supply. They prefer well-drained soil, withstanding moderate drought stress but not flooding. Salt tolerance is minimal for most species.