Sabal minor

Sabal minor, commonly known as the dwarf palmetto, is a small species of palm. It is native to the deep southeastern and south-central United States and northeastern Mexico. It is naturally found in a diversity of habitats, including maritime forests, swamps, floodplains, and occasionally on drier sites. It is often found growing in calcareous marl soil. Sabal minor is one of the most frost and cold tolerant among North American palms.

Description

A small palm. The trunk is underground. Some plants can have a trunk 1-2 m high. The trunk can be 25-30 cm across. The leaf stalk extends into the blade. The leaf stalk is strong and the leaves are held upright. The leaf blade may be split into 2 halves. The leaves are blue green. The flowering bunch is also upright but arches over and extends beyond the leaves. The flowers are small and white and have a scent. The fruit are about 1 cm across. They are black when ripe.

Edible Uses

Fresh root slices have been baked and eaten as bread. The fruit is a small dry berry up to 10mm in diameter with a thin sweet flesh. The following uses recorded for the related S. palmetto very probably apply here as well. Fruit can be eaten raw or cooked — sweet and pleasant, it is described as a nourishing food though said to be an acquired taste; S. palmetto fruit is up to 12mm in diameter with a thin sweet flesh. Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked and are considered an excellent food. The large succulent leaf buds are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The sap is sweet.

Traditional Uses

The starch of the trunk can be used for sago. The pulp of the fruit is eaten raw or made into syrup. It is also dried and made into bread. The terminal bud or cabbage is eaten raw or cooked.

Medicinal Uses

The juice of the crushed small root has been rubbed into sore eyes as a counterirritant. A decoction of the dried root has been taken to treat high blood pressure and kidney problems.

Distribution

It will grow from the tropics to the temperate zones. It can stand very low temperatures. It grows in swamps in the Southern USA. It grows in undergrowth in evergreen and deciduous forests at low elevations. It suits hardiness zones 8-11.

Where It Grows

Africa, Asia, Australia, East Africa, Guam, India, Indonesia, North America, Pakistan, SE Asia, Singapore, USA*, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Propagation

Sow seed as soon as ripe in a warm greenhouse at no less than 24°C — stored seed is very slow to germinate. Pre-soaking seed for 24 hours in warm water before sowing may reduce germination time. Plants form a long tap-root before producing a shoot. Fresh seed typically germinates in 3–4 months at 25°C. Prick seedlings out into individual pots once large enough to handle and grow on in the greenhouse for at least their first two winters. Plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts, and consider providing cold protection through at least the first winter outdoors.

Other Uses

The dried leaves are used occasionally to thatch the roofs of huts. The following uses are recorded for S. palmetto and very probably apply here as well. An excellent fibre is obtained from the leaf stalks — the finest quality from young leaf stalks still in the bud, with coarser material from older leaves or the bases of old leaf stalks surrounding the bud. Fibres are up to 50cm long and are harvested commercially to make brushes, especially those required to remain stiff in hot water or caustics. Pieces of the spongy bark of the stem are used as a substitute for scrubbing brushes. The leaves are woven into coarse hats, mats, and baskets. The roots contain about 10% tannin, which has been commercially harvested in the past, though the yield is not considered sufficient for profitable extraction. The wood is light and soft; trunks are used for wharf piles, polished cross-sections have been used as small table tops, and the wood is also largely manufactured into canes.

Production

It grows very slowly in temperate countries. Plants usually flower while quite young.

Notes

There are 16 Sabal species. They can hybridise with each other.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Blue Palmetto, Bush palmetto, Lanatier, Palem sabal mini, Swamp Palmetto

References (21)

• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 536
• Balick, M.J. and Beck, H.T., (Ed.), 1990, Useful palms of the World. A Synoptic Bibliography. Colombia p 583,
• Blomberry, A. & Rodd, T., 1982, Palms. An informative practical guide. Angus & Robertson. p 164
• Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 920
• Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 3(87):205-206, t. 25. 1804 (As Sabal adansonii)

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