Sabal palmetto
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Sabal palmetto swamp forest. Photo from DPI slide collection |
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Sabal palmetto persistent leaf bases attached to stem |
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Sabal palmetto stem with leaf bases no longer attached |
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Sabal palmetto stems with and without old leaf bases |
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Sabal palmetto split petioles and leaf bases |
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Sabal palmetto leaf curved by costa |
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Sabal palmetto leaf curved by costa |
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Sabal palmetto with ramenta on abaxial midrib of young leaf segment |
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Sabal palmetto inflorescence |
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Sabal palmetto seeds. Photograph courtesy of Mariana P. Beckman, DPI |
Common name
cabbage palm, sabal palmetto, sabal palm
Description
Stems: Solitary, upright stems to 20 m tall and to 35 cm diameter. Leaves: Old leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
bases often persistent, but can fall away to leave a smooth stem. Costapalmatecostapalmate:
a fan-shaped leaf with a midrib (costa) extending into the blade, sometimes extending far enough into the blade to cause it to curve (e.g., <em>Sabal palmetto</em>)
leaves with a strongly arching costacosta:
mid-rib or vein
. Leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
segments rigid, with numerous fibers along the segment margins. Petiole bases split. Flowers and fruits: Inflorescences equaling or exceeding the leaves in length, branched to three orders. Flowers creamy white, bisexual. Ripe fruit black, spherical to a slightly flattened sphere (pear-shaped), 8-14 mm diameter, usually about the size and shape of a medium blueberry.
Diagnostic features
Field: Costapalmatecostapalmate:
a fan-shaped leaf with a midrib (costa) extending into the blade, sometimes extending far enough into the blade to cause it to curve (e.g., <em>Sabal palmetto</em>)
leaf and a smooth petiole without teeth or spines. Inflorescences arching, equaling or exceeding the leaves in length. Fruits black, spherical to a slightly flattened sphere in shape, 8-14 mm diameter, about the size and shape of a medium blueberry.
May be confused with
Sabal minor, in that a young Sabal palmetto can grow many years before its stem rises above ground. A young S. palmetto can be distinguished from S. minor, which has a true underground stem, by the prominence of the curved shape of the S. palmetto costapalmatecostapalmate:
a fan-shaped leaf with a midrib (costa) extending into the blade, sometimes extending far enough into the blade to cause it to curve (e.g., <em>Sabal palmetto</em>)
leaf and the abundant thread-like fibers found on the margins of the sinuses between its leafleaf:
in palms -- the leaf blade (which is usually divided into leaflets or leaf segments), the petiole (or leaf stalk) and the sheath (which forms the attachment of the leaf to the stem)
segments.
Distribution
Native to Bahamas, Cuba and southeastern United States from North Carolina to Florida
Additional comments
If the palm has been severely pruned, with only 2-3 leaves remaining, inflorescences may droop well below the leaves.
This palm is the state "tree" of South Carolina and Florida.
Scientific name
Sabal palmetto (Walter) Lodd. ex Schult. & Schult.f.
Family
Arecaceae/Palmae
Synonyms
Chamaerops palmetto (Walter) Michx.
Corypha palmetto Walter
Inodes schwarzii O.F.Cook
Inodes palmetto (Walter) O.F.Cook
Sabal bahamensis (Becc.) L.H.Bailey
Sabal jamesiana Small
Sabal parviflora Becc.
Sabal schwarzii (O.F.Cook) Becc.
Sabal viatoris L.H.Bailey
