Florida State Tree
Cabbage Palmetto (common name) Sabal palmetto (scientific name) Overview Cabbage palmetto is the most northerly and abundant of the native tree palms. Cabbage palmetto is a true palm tree, native to Florida and the Caribbean, ranging north to South Carolina and the barrier islands of North Carolina. The cabbage palmetto is the state tree of Florida and South Carolina. The cabbage palmetto is featured on the state flag and Great Seal of Florida. It also appears on the state flag of South Carolina, which is nicknamed "The Palmetto State." The tree symbol commemorates the defense of Charleston by the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island. This fort served to repel a British invasion in 1776. The strength of the fort is credited to the elasticity of the palm logs against a bombardment of cannonballs. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Cabbage palmetto is an erect palm tree with an unbranched trunk. The stem diameter is typically uniform from base to crown. The crown is relatively small, approximately 12 to 18 feet (3.7-5.5 m) in diameter. Like many palms, the crown is typically wider when grown in shade and more compact when grown in full sun. The leaves of cabbage palmetto are up to nine feet long, fan-shaped, and spineless. Some trees shed their dead leaves while others retain them. Flowers are tiny and white, but held in large groupings that emerge below the crown of leaves. The fruit is black, spherical, and pea-sized. Height: 33-82 feet (10-25 m) Diameter: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) Bark: grayish-brown, rough Fruit: spherical, black, pea-sized, 0.25-0.50 in (8-14 mm), contains a single seed Leaves: 3-9 feet (1-3 m), fan-shaped LIFESPAN This tree has a slow growth rate and a moderate lifespan, normally living 70 to 100 years. HABITAT Cabbage palmetto grows in a variety of habitats, from pine and oak groups to coastal dunes and woodlands to brackish marshes. The climate within the natural range of cabbage palmetto is principally subtropical to warm temperate and humid. Cabbage palmetto can tolerate a broad range of soil pH, salinity, and drainage, but prefers neutral to alkaline soils characterized by near-surface or exposed calcium or limestone. IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE Black bears, white-tailed deer, raccoons, squirrels, bats, bobwhites, wild turkeys, ring-necked gulls, cardinals, great-tailed grackles, blue jays, and scrub jays all eat cabbage palmetto fruit. OTHER USES AND VALUES The terminal bud of cabbage palmetto is edible and tastes somewhat like cabbage—hence the name. Removal of the bud kills the tree, however, because the terminal bud is the only point from which the palm can grow. Bees use the tree's pollen. It is a significant source of a strong but delicious dark-amber honey. Although cabbage palmetto is a moderately important honey plant, its greatest economic use is as an ornamental. Cabbage palmetto is desirable for horticulture in regions with warm winters. It is frequently cultivated on the Hawaiian Islands. It is salt-tolerant and good either for beach planting or as a street tree. Cabbage palmetto wood is sea-worm resistant and splinter resistant. It has no growth rings. It is used for wharf pilings, poles, broom handles, water pipes, and ornamental tabletops. Cabbage palmetto leaves are used to make canes, scrub brushes, thatch, and baskets. Young cabbage palmetto fronds are collected and shipped worldwide each spring for use on Palm Sunday. This tree is in flower when many other plants are not. REPRODUCTION Cabbage palmetto flowers are insect pollinated. Fruits persist until removed by wind, rain, or birds. On the ground, cabbage palmetto seeds are eaten or stored by small mammals. Birds and mammals act as dispersal agents. Cabbage palmetto seeds are buoyant and salt resistant. Near coastal areas, water is an important means of seed dispersal as well. SITE CHARACTERISTICS Cabbage palmetto grows in a humid, subtropical to warm-temperate climate. The average maximum and minimum temperatures range from 97 to 25 degrees F (36 to -4 deg C). This tree tolerates a wide range of soil acidities, salinities, and drainage conditions. It grows best on neutral to alkaline soils that are rich in calcium. LOCATION/ELEVATION This tree grows throughout peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys. It grows in the coastal areas and flooded lowlands of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and in limited amounts on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and South Carolina, cabbage palmetto grows near the coast. In central Florida, it is found on flooded lowlands, inland dunes, and ridges below 100 feet (30 m). In southern Florida, cabbage palmetto is common in high and low fertile areas, tree islands, and mixed conifer-hardwood swamp communities. Elsewhere it grows in relatively dry scrub and Miami inland communities. TRIVIA Cabbage palmetto was an important tree to the Seminole Indians, who often made their homes on cabbage-palm hammocks. They made bread meal from the fruit, which has a sweet, prune-like flavor, and they used the palm fronds to thatch their chickees (traditional huts) and to make baskets. Because the sheltered location that would be necessary to cultivate a cabbage palmetto outdoors in Washington, DC, is not available, substitute species have been chosen to represent Florida and South Carolina in the National Grove of State Trees. Florida is represented by the baldcypress. Baldcypress is a characteristic plant of southern swamplands and is the dominant tree in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve. To represent South Carolina, the National Grove features swamp chestnut oak, a large forest tree native to the southeastern United States.
	Click to enlarge an image Cabbage Palmetto Cabbage Palmetto Leaves Cabbage Palmetto Fruit Cabbage Palmetto Bark Cabbage Palmetto with Flower Clusters Cabbage Palmetto Distribution Map (pdf) CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Tracheobionta Superdivision: Spermatophyta Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Subclass: Arecidae Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Genus: Sabal Species: Sabal palmetto
	Sources: U.S. Forest Service U.S. National Arboretum U.S. Department of Agriculture Author: World Trade Press