Tropical hardwood hammocks are closed canopy forests, dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi-deciduous tree and shrub species, mostly of West Indian origin. Tropical hardwood hammocks are found in South Florida or the Everglades, with large concentrations on the Miami Rock Ridge, in the Florida Keys, along the northern shores of Florida Bay, and in the Pinecrest region of the Big Cypress Swamp.

Tropical hardwood hammocks are habitat for a few endemic plants and are critical habitat for many West Indian plant species when the northernmost portions of their ranges extend into South Florida. Tropical hardwood hammocks also provide important habitat for many species of wildlife, including nine federally listed species. While the majority of the remaining hammocks outside of the Florida Keys have now been protected, hammocks are still significantly threatened by development in the Keys. Tropical hardwood hammocks have been heavily impacted by outright destruction, conversion to agriculture, exotic plant and animal species, collecting pressure on plants and animals, anthropogenic fires, and alterations in hydrology. Significant work has been initiated to restore existing disturbed tropical hardwood hammocks and to control exotic plant species. Numerous opportunities also exist to create or maintain tropical hardwood hammocks within the developed landscapes.

Large areas of tropical hardwood hammocks are found in Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park, throughout the Florida Keys, and in Big Cypress National Preserve. Tropical hardwood hammocks also persist in small preserves along the Atlantic coastal strip from Miami-Dade County north to Martin County. Analogous communities are found in the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles. Most maritime hammocks on barrier islands in South Florida are similar to this community.

Tropical hardwood hammock is a closed canopy forest, dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi-deciduous tree and shrub species, mostly of West Indian origin. It is important habitat for ferns and orchids of West Indian origin. Tropical hardwood hammock is not a fire maintained community, although fire may burn into tropical hardwood hammocks under certain conditions. Soils in tropical hardwood hammocks are primarily composed of organic material which has accumulated directly on top of mineral substrate, and are moist but rarely inundated.

Five major types of hammocks are:

Tropical hardwood hammocks also include the more open coastal rock barren and sinkhole communities as classified by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Coastal rock barren is a rare community occurring in tiny patches in the Florida Keys. Sinkholes are found in areas of karst limestone, primarily in hammocks on the Miami Rock Ridge.

Tropical hardwood hammocks are habitat for a few endemic vascular plants. While few plant species are endemic to tropical hardwood hammocks, hammocks are critical habitat for West Indian species where the northernmost portions of their ranges extend into South Florida. The canopy height of tropical hardwood hammocks varies according to substrate and climate. On the Miami Rock Ridge, a mature hammock will have a closed canopy at 18 m (59 ft) or less, while those on the Florida Keys have a canopy 9 to 12 m (30 to 39 ft) tall. The tropical hardwood hammock shrub and herb layer is sparse, mostly consisting of seedlings and saplings of canopy and subcanopy trees and shrubs.

One of the most important ecotonal communities associated with tropical hardwood hammocks is the hammock edge where it interfaces with pine rockland, buttonwood wetlands, marl prairie, or other communities. The edges of hammocks are floristically very important, and many tropical hardwood hammock species are limited to these ecotones (although they may be found in other communities such as pine rocklands, or in hammock gaps following disturbance). Hammock gaps, similar to but substantially different from hammock edges, are also important to hammock dynamics. Historically, hammock gaps were created by storm events, including hurricanes, which allowed pioneer species to invade openings in the hammock canopy.