PACSOA - Sabal palmetto

Palms

Sabal palmetto

Synonymy:
Sabal blackburniana ,
Sabal viatoris ,
Sabal jamesiana ,
Sabal parviflora
Common Names:
Palmetto Palm
Distribution:
Southern USA (from North Carolina down), thru to islands in the Bahamas, and Cuba.
Habitat:
Widely varying, from sand dunes through to swamps.
Description:
A solitary fan palm to about 20m tall, with a large crown of costapalmate leaves.
Culture:
Fast and easy to grow, particularly in moist, sandy soil. Quite likes wet feet and is also salt tolerant. Seeds germinate easily.

Figure 1. S. palmetto growing thru the canopy,
Ocala National Forest, Florida.

Figure 2. A nice circular crown.

Figure 3.
Figure 4.
These two photos document what seems to be a very unusual abnormality amongst a small population of Sabal palmetto in one section of the Ocala National Forest. The petiole bases are arranged in vertical ranks on about a dozen trees in this one small area, perhaps a half of an acre. Does anyone know if this is a common feature or not of the species ?

Figure 5. Plants growing into a live oak (Quercus virginiana ) canopy in Ocala National Forest, along a hiking trail near the St. John's River.
Figure 6. A lovely shot overlooking the water,
Ocala National Forest.

Contributed by: Jason Skells

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Figure 3.	Figure 4.
These two photos document what seems to be a very unusual abnormality amongst a small population of Sabal palmetto in one section of the Ocala National Forest. The petiole bases are arranged in vertical ranks on about a dozen trees in this one small area, perhaps a half of an acre. Does anyone know if this is a common feature or not of the species ?