Please define for me, “Southern Rough.”

[Siskiyou]

I have been reading about the forest fires burning in Georgia and Florida.  Many of the descriptions say the fires are burning in timber plantations, swamps, and Southern Rough. 

A search of the Internet leads me to the Southern Rough-Winged Swallow, a biker page, and to the Northern Rough-Winged Swallow.  Apparently they nest in tree cavities.  The Swallows nest in trees, nesting location of the bikers is unknown.

So is Southern Rough a tree with a Swallow nesting in it, a biker’s bar, or is there a better definition? Is Southern Rough some place the guys like to go deer, or pig hunting?  Is it a general term for vegetation and topography?
 

[Graybeard]

I've lived in the south all my life and can't say as how I've ever heard the term before. I'm sure it's likely one the news reporter made up for the report. But in general I'd guess it refers to the rough terrain with few houses and few roads that some remote sections of the south still have. If it weren't in south GA and FL I'd say it might refer to moutainous areas but not there it can't.

[Questor]

GB:

I think Southern Rough is the sequel to Brokeback Mountain, if you know what I mean.

Seriously, though. It's more of a Florida term and I think most people call it scrub. Saw palmetto is the main scrub plant. I know there's some land like that near coastal Alabama. The main features are pines growing high and saw palmettos growing near the ground.

Take a look at the scrubby flatwoods picture on this link and you'll get the idea.
http://www.nbbd.com/godo/ef/scrub/index.html

One important thing about this kind of habitat is that it's designed by nature to burn periodically.

[SHOOTALL]

to rough to plant , to rough to build on , read good hunting or undeveloped land ! ever walked thru briar's ? the kind that can tear carharts right off ya ! Thats rough !

[powderman]

A lady I work with has a son in Fla who drives an 18 wheeler. He calls at least 1 or 2 times a week and says the devastation to crops is really bad, entire orange groves gone. He said the gators are all over the highways to escape the fires. She told him not to worry, his truck is bigger than the gators, squish em. I saw onions at walmart today at $1.98 a lb. Our local store sold 3 lb bags for $1.29 for 3 lb, now they are $3.59 for 3 lb. POWDERMAN. 

[rockbilly]

I always thought the term "Southern Rough" was in reference to "Bubba" after he had a few shots of red-eye out of a dirty glass down at the Dew Drop Inn.

[SHOOTALL]

naw , that's redneck Bubba , if the glass was a clean one it would be good-ole-boy Bubba !
I was American by birth and southern by the grace of GOD ! so i know these things

[victorcharlie]

Southern Rough would describe most all rural southern men.......and a lot of urban ones too......

[S.S.]

You ever hear of something called a "Wait-A-Minute" vine ?
It is a briar vine that when you get caught by it you have to say Wait a minute
to your rabbit hunting buddies to allow yourself time to become un-tangled from it.
Catch one of these babies wrong and it will snatch you off a 4-wheeler..
Sort of nature made barbed wire.. And it is ROUGH..

[SHOOTALL]

We hunt a place with  what we call bamboo briar's , one year they got really thick and the snow laid um over , looked like a mat , so i got on top and was doing good for a distance , well  i found a hole , looked like i got in a fight with a porkiepine !