Florida has more swampland and marshes than any other US state except Alaska. One third of it is covered in cypress domes, wet prairies, mangrove swamps, sawgrass glades, pitcher plant savannahs, and other wetlands. The swamps are also the last refuge of panthers, wood storks, black bears, and many rare plants such as the ghost orchid and hand fern. In this intimate account of biological richness, Larson offers everyone from bird watchers and canoeists to botanists and policy makers an introduction to Florida's forested wetlands.