Hungryland Slough Natural Area is located on the south side of the Bee Line Highway (State Road 710), approximately 3.5 miles northwest of PGA Boulevard. It lies between the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area and the North County General Aviation Airport.
There are no public use facilities at present other than two small informational kiosks at the points along the C-18 Canal where there are entrances into the natural area. Hiking, photography, wildlife viewing, and other passive recreation activities like Geocaching are allowed on the site.
Hungryland Slough Natural Area contains eight native biological communities: mesic flatwoods, hydric flatwoods, strand swamp, dome swamp, hydric hammock, xeric hammock, wet prairie, and depression marsh.
Bicycles are permitted on the canal road. THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED INSIDE THE NATURAL AREA. If you encounter horseback riders on the canal road, remember they have the right of way.
The Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), is also called northern white pine. It is one of the most valuable trees in eastern North America and is the Ontario Provincial tree.
The white pine is a large-sized evergreen coniferous tree, averaging 75 - 120 feet high. It's crown is full, spreading, generally irregularly shaped. The trunk shows little taper and is generally branchless for over 1/2 its height. Trunk bark on young trees, is thin, smooth and gray-green in color. on older trees the bark becomes thick, reddy-brown to gray-brown with prominent broad ridges and furrows.
White Pine leaves (needles) are evergreen, 3 - 5 inches long, and are arranged in bunches of five .
The White Pine has male and female flowers which appear in May; the male flowers are cylindrical, yellow, in clusters near branch tips, while the females are light green, tinged in red, at ends of branches.
White Pine cones are 4 - 7 inches long, cylindrical, with thin, rounded cone scales, and are very resinous. Cones are borne on a long stalk and mature in August to September.
White pine is a valuable timber species. Although the natural population is much depleted now, it is still preferred for softwood lumber. Builders of sailing ships once sought the tall, straight white pine for masts. The best trees in British North America were stamped by the Crown and reserved for the Royal Navy.
The cache is a micro so BYOP and just sign our initials.