Cabbage Palmetto
(Arecaceae Sabal
palmetto)
Adopted in 1953.
The 1953 Legislature
designated the sabal palm,
Arecaceae Sabal palmetto,
as the State Tree. This palm
is the most widely
distributed in the state and
possesses a majesty that
sets it apart from other
trees. It grows in almost
any soil and has many uses
including food and medicine.
It is also used widely for
landscaping because of its
universal popularity. In
addition, the 1970 Florida
Legislature mandated that
the sabal palm should
replace the cocoa palm on
the State Seal.
Cabbage palmetto (Sabal
palmetto) is the most
northerly and abundant of
the native tree palms. Other
names sometimes used are
Carolina palmetto, common
palmetto, palmetto, and
cabbage-palm. This
medium-sized unbranched
evergreen palm commonly
grows on sandy shores, along
brackish marshes, in
seacoast woodlands of
Southeastern United States
and throughout peninsular
Florida. It can tolerate a
broad range of soil
conditions and is often
planted as a street tree.
Abundant fruit crops provide
a good supply of food to
many kinds of wildlife.
Description:
- Leaf:
Alternate, palmately
compound, fan shaped;
leaflets very long (4 to
6 feet) and lance
shaped, leaf stalks are
long, extend through the
leaf, and are without
sharp edges; green in
color, overall leaf
nearly round and several
feet long.
- Flower: Small
white flowers occurring
on large (several feet),
branched clusters,
appearing in early
summer.
- Fruit: Fleshy
drupe, nearly round, 1/3
to 1/2 inch across, dark
shiny blue, maturing in
early fall and
persistent into the
winter.
- Twig: Absent,
since leaves appear
directly out of
unbranched trunk.
- Bark: Gray
brown, tough, splits
vertically.
- Form: Tall
(to 80 feet), straight
trunk with a short
rounded crown.
Taxonomic
Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae --
Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta --
Vascular plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta –
Seed plants |
Division |
Magnoliophyta –
Flowering plants |
Class |
Liliopsida –
Monocotyledons |
Subclass |
Arecidae – |
Order |
Arecales – |
Family |
Arecaceae – Palm
family |
Genus |
Sabal
Adans. –
palmetto |
Species |
Sabal
palmetto
(Walt.) Lodd. ex
J.A. & J.H.
Schultes –
cabbage palmetto |
Source:
Dendrology at
Virginia Tech
U.S. Department of
Agriculture
|