Sabal is a genus of New World palms (or fan-palms). Currently, there are 17 recognized species of Sabal, including one hybrid species.

Distribution

The species are native to the subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, from the Gulf Coast/South Atlantic states in the Southeastern United States, south through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America to Colombia and Venezuela.

Description

Members of this genus are typically identified by the leaves which originate from a bare, unarmed petiole in a fan-like structure. All members of this genus have a costa (or midrib) that extends into the leaf blade. This midrib can vary in length; and it is due to this variation that leaf blades of certain species of Sabal are strongly curved or strongly costapalmate (as in Sabal palmetto and Sabal etonia) or weakly curved (almost flattened), weakly costapalmate (as in Sabal minor). Like many other palms, the fruit of Sabal are drupe, that typically change from green to black when mature.

Taxonomy

The name Sabal was first applied to members of the group by Michel Adanson in the 18th century. Previous names that this genus was associated with include Corypha, Chamaerops, Rhapis. This study incorporated plastid and nuclear sequence data that together were used to estimate the relatedness between the species of Sabal.

|-

|120px || Sabal bermudana <small>L.H.Bailey<!--1934--></small>

|Bermuda palmetto|| Bermuda

|-

|frameless|158x158px

|Sabal brazoriensis <small>D.H.Goldman, Lockett & Read</small>

|Brazoria palmetto

|United States (Texas)

|-

|120px || Sabal causiarum <small>(O.F. Cook) Becc.<!--1907--></small>

|Puerto Rico palmetto|| United States (Puerto Rico), British Virgin Islands, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic)

|-

|120px || Sabal domingensis <small>Becc.<!--1908--></small>

|Hispaniola palmetto|| Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic, Haiti)

|-

|120px || Sabal etonia <small>Swingle ex Nash<!--1896--></small>

|Scrub palmetto|| United States (Florida)

|-

|120px || Sabal gretheriae <small>H.J.Quero.R.<!--1991--></small>

|Yucatán palmetto|| Mexico (Quintana Roo)

|-

| || Sabal lougheediana <small>M.P.Griff.</small>

|Bonaire palmetto|| Bonaire

|-

|}

thumb|240px|right|Fossil of S. major

Prehistoric taxa

Extinct species within this genus include:

  • †Sabal grayana <small>Brown 1962</small>
  • †Sabal imperialis <small>Brown 1962</small>
  • †Sabal jenkinsii <small>(Reid & Chandler) Manchester 1994</small> Leaf fossils of Sabal lamanonis have been recovered from rhyodacite tuff of Lower Miocene age in southern Slovakia near the town of Lučenec. 27 million year old Sabal lamanonis and Sabal raphipholia leaf fossils in volcanic rocks have been described from the Evros region in Western Thrace, Greece.

Formerly placed in Sabal

  • Serenoa repens <small>(W.Bartram) Small</small> (as S. serrulata <small>(Michx.) Nutt. ex Schult. & Schult.f.</small>) and various species of Hymenoptera. American black bears (Ursus americanus) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) are also known to feed on fruit of various species of Sabal. Sabal palmetto is recorded to have its own lichen, Arthonia rubrocincta, that only occurs on its leaf bases. In Europe, the introduced Lepidopteran species Paysandisia archon has become a prominent pest whose larvae are known to feed on some of the cultivated species of Sabal.

Uses

Arborescent species are often transplanted from natural stands into urban landscapes and are rarely grown in nurseries due to slow growth. Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants and because several species are relatively cold-hardy, can be grown farther north than most other palms. The central bud of Sabal palmetto is edible and, when cooked, is known as 'swamp cabbage'. Mature fronds are used as thatch, to make straw hats, and for weaving mats.

References

  • Sabal images at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens
  • Sabal at Scanpalm