Cabbage Palm
Sabal Palmetto • Sabale • Florida Palmetto
Cabbage Palm in Motion
The Essence
"The cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto), also known as the sabal palm or simply palmetto, is one of the most cold-hardy and widely planted palms in the southeastern United States. Native to the coastal plains of the SE U.S.A. through to Cuba and the Bahamas, it grows up to about 24 m (80 ft) tall and is crowned by a full, rounded canopy of evergreen, fan-shaped (costapalmate) leaves with a distinct midrib. In summer it produces large arching panicles of tiny, fragrant, creamy-white flowers, followed by small black drupes. Hardy to roughly 15 degrees F (about USDA Zone 8a-8b, with reports of greater tolerance), it shrugs off salt spray, drought, standing water and hurricane winds, making it a mainstay of coastal landscaping. It is the official state tree of both Florida and South Carolina, and its image appears on South Carolina's state flag, seal and 2000 quarter as well as Florida's great seal and flag. The edible terminal bud is eaten as 'heart of palm' or swamp cabbage."
The genus name Sabal was first applied to the group by the French botanist Michel Adanson in the 18th century; its derivation is obscure and of unknown origin. The species epithet 'palmetto' comes from the Spanish 'palmito,' a diminutive of 'palma' (palm), essentially meaning 'little palm.' The common name 'cabbage palm' refers to the edible terminal bud (heart of palm), whose flavor is likened to cabbage.
On June 28, 1776, Charleston patriots under William Moultrie built a fort of spongy palmetto logs on Sullivan's Island that absorbed British cannon fire, helping earn South Carolina its 'Palmetto State' nickname; the trunks were also historically used for wharf piles and fort construction, while the leaf fibers served for brushes.
Natural Habitat
Sabal palmetto is native to the coastal plains of the southeastern United States through to Cuba, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, the Bahamas, Cuba and the Turks and Caicos Islands; it has been introduced to Trinidad and Tobago. (Some sources, including Wikipedia, additionally list Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, but POWO does not, so this is treated cautiously.) It grows along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, from North Carolina southward usually within about 20 km (12 mi) of the coast. The climate is principally subtropical to warm temperate and humid, with average annual rainfall of 1000-1630 mm. Highly tolerant of salt spray, drought, standing water and brackish water (though not lengthy saltwater inundation), it prefers neutral to alkaline soils over calcareous sands, marls or limestone.
Specimen Gallery Under Curation
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