They form in shallow depressions whose impervious substrates hold standing water for several months of the year.
[1] Although the center of the depression is its deepest part, it is also where trees are the tallest and oldest.
It is joined by the subtropical shrubs pond-apple (Annona glabra), cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco), and swamp bay (Persea palustris).
The strangler fig (Ficus aurea) and the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) are also found here.
[1] It is distinguished from the similar southern coastal plain nonriverine cypress dome by the presence of tropical understory species.