Sabal etonia
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Sabal etonia habit. |
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Sabal etonia with fruit. Photograph courtesy of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Guide to Palms http://palmguide.org/index.php |
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Sabal etonia hastula and fibers. |
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Sabal etonia costa and inflorescence. |
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Sabal etonia closer view of inflorescence. |
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Sabal etonia seeds. Photograph courtesy of Mariana P. Beckman, DPI. |
Common name
scrub palmetto
Description
Stems: Solitary, subterranean, rarely growing upright to 2 m tall. Leaves: Strongly 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>)
, induplicateinduplicate:
Most palm leaflets or leaf segments are obviously folded. If the folds create a V-shape, with the midrib lower than the margins (so that rain might fall "into a valley"), the folding is induplicate.
, blade curved by costacosta:
mid-rib or vein
, yellow green segments stiff and split almost to the base of the blade with fibers between segments, tips bifidbifid:
deeply cleft into two usually equal parts or two-lobed from the apex; for example, palms with bifid leaves or leaflet tips (e.g., <em>Chamaedorea metallica</em> has bifid leaves)
; petiole unarmed. Flowers and fruits: Inflorescenceinflorescence:
the reproductive structure of a flowering plant, including palms, consisting of flowers and associated bracts
densely branched to two orders, shorter than or about as long as the leaves. When ripe, fruits are spherical to ovoid, brown or black drupes, 9-13 mm long.
Diagnostic features
Field: Solitary, unarmed, usually subterranean palm with strongly 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>)
, yellow green leaves with marginal fibers. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
the reproductive structure of a flowering plant, including palms, consisting of flowers and associated bracts
sparsely branched to two orders, shorter than or about as long as the leaves.
May be confused with
Sabal minor, but its leaves are gray-green and weakly 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>)
, without marginal fibers, and its inflorescenceinflorescence:
the reproductive structure of a flowering plant, including palms, consisting of flowers and associated bracts
exceeds the leaves in length. In addition, Sabal etonia is a scrub plant while Sabal minor is found in swamps and wet areas.
Distribution
Native to central and southeastern Florida scrublands
Additional comments
This genus is among the most common in and around the Caribbean region and among the few native to the continental United States.
Scientific name
Sabal etonia Swingle ex Nash
Family
Arecaceae/Palmae
Synonyms
Sabal adansonii Guersent var. megacarpa Chapman
Sabal megacarpa (Chapm.) Small
