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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Serenoa repens | Saw-Palmetto
 

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VALUE AND USE

SPECIES: Serenoa repens | Saw-Palmetto
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : Saw-palmetto stems provide crude logs and have been used for pulp, although the quality of the paper produced is poor [32,38]. IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : Although occasionally eaten by cattle, saw-palmetto has little value as livestock forage and is a rangeland pest [18,19]. Saw-palmetto helps provide primary habitat for the wildlife of southern Florida's palmetto prairies. Distinctive species include the crested caracara, the Florida burrowing owl, and the Florida sandhill crane [6]. As a member of scrub communities, saw-palmetto provides essential habitat for sand skinks, the Florida mouse, and a variety of birds, including the Florida scrub jay--a threatened subspecies [4]. Black bears feed on saw-palmetto fruit [17] and the young shoots which sprout after winter fires in the Florida flatwoods [16]. White-tailed deer also eat saw-palmetto fruit, especially during dry years [13]. PALATABILITY : NO-ENTRY NUTRITIONAL VALUE : NO-ENTRY COVER VALUE : Saw-palmetto provides security cover for white-tailed deer in Florida's pine flatwoods [13]. VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : Saw-palmetto can be used for watershed protection, erosion control, and phosphate-mine reclamation [6]. OTHER USES AND VALUES : A drug called serenoa can be derived from the partially dried, ripe fruits of saw-palmetto and used to treat bladder, prostate, and urethra infections. Bees collect nectar from the flowers to produce honey [32]. Saw-palmetto leaves provide thatch and Christmas decorations. Saw palmetto stems are a source of tannin acid extract and can be processed into a cork substitute [32,38]. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Saw-palmetto is a pest and fire hazard in Southern timber stands. It contributes large amounts of combustible fuel to forest understories and competes with pines (Pinus spp.) for moisture, nutrients, and space [3,21]. Silvicultural and range management objectives often call for saw-palmetto control. Centuries of open range, abusive burning, and excessive grazing have converted many flatwood-bluestem (Andropogon spp.) ranges into flatwood-saw-palmetto ranges [18]. Saw-palmetto control releases palatable grasses and forbs for livestock and deer, and reduces competition with conifers [13]. Mist-blower applications of the herbicide 2,4,5-T provide effective control [19,23], especially when used in conjunction with prescribed burning [3] or other defoliation treatments [23]. Following defoliation by fire or mechanical treatment, saw-palmetto should be sprayed when new shoots appear (approximately 6 months later) [38]. Saw-palmetto does not regenerate well following mechanical removal [5]. Mechanical disturbance which dislodges, uproots, and cuts saw-palmetto stems and rhizomes provides effective control [19]. Roller-drum choppers pulled in tandem at offset angles [13] or perpendicular to each other [28] may reduce saw-palmetto cover by 90 percent 2 years after treatment [13]. Chop-rest-chop rotations provide continued range maintenance [18]. When wildlife or cover management goals require saw-palmetto enhancement, use rock phosphate fertilizer [28] or site drainage [40] to increase cover.

Related categories for Species: Serenoa repens | Saw-Palmetto

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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