BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Sabal palmetto | Cabbage Palmetto 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
The cabbage palmetto is an erect, unbranched palm tree.  It grows to a
height of 33 to 82 feet (10-25 m) with a stem diameter of 12 to 24
inches (30-60 cm).  Typically the stem diameter is uniform from the
base to the crown.  Leaf bases or "boots" may persist on the stem or
slough off, giving the stem a smooth appearance [5,19,21].

Cabbage palmetto leaves are fan-shaped, palmately divided, and
spineless.  They are borne on a prominately-arching midrib and may be 3
to 9 feet (1-3 m) long.  Cabbage palmetto flowers are perfect, showy,
and creamy to yellowish white.  They are borne in arching or drooping
clusters.  The fruit is a black, fleshy, drupe that contains a single
brown spherical seed [13].  Sargent (1933 in [19]) described the cabbage
palmetto root system as a short, bulbous, underground stem surrounded by
a dense mass of contorted roots with smaller, light orange roots
penetrating the soil to a depth of 15 to 20 feet (4.6-6.1 m).


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Cabbage palmetto flowers are insect pollinated [13,19,23].  Fruits
persist on the spadix until removed by wind, rain, or birds such as
ringed-neck gulls, fish crows, cardinals, and blue jays.  On the ground,
cabbage palmetto seeds are eaten or cached 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 [23].  Meyers (1977 in [19]) reports that seed
survival is low.  Of roughly 620,000 seeds produced per acre
(1,500,000/ha), only about 9 percent survive frugivory.  Seeds exposed
to sunlight for long periods do not germinate well.  The first year's
growth consists of a primary root, one fully expanded leaf, and a
rhizomatous stem.  There is no information on vegetative growth [19].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Climate:  Cabbage palmetto grows in a humid, subtropical to
warm-temperate climate.  Within its range, the average annual rainfall
is 39 to 64 inches (100-163 cm).  The average maximum and minimum
temperatures range from 97 to 25 degrees F (36 to -4 deg C).  Low winter
temperatures probably limit cabbage palmetto's northern range.

Soils:  Cabbage palmetto tolerates a wide range of soil acidities,
salinities, and drainage conditions.  It grows best on neutral to
alkaline soils which are rich in calcium.  Because of its calcium
affinity, cabbage palmetto frequently grows near exposed calcareous
sands, marls, and limestones.  Cabbage palmetto prefers poorly to very
poorly drained soils and often grows on the edge of freshwater and
brackish wetlands.  It tolerates salt and occasional flooding.  The
Entisol, Alfisol, Ultisol, and Spodosol soil orders all support cabbage
palmetto.

At the northern limit of its range, cabbage palmetto grows mainly on the
baysides of coastal dunes.  In central Florida it grows on periodically
flooded lowlands, relict inland dunes, and ridges below 100 feet (30 m).
With drainage, cabbage palmetto invades the once seasonally inundated
interhammock glades.  Along freshwater sources, cabbage palmetto can
form pure stands covering up to 25 acres (10 ha).  Such stands are
called "river hammocks" if along a river, and "cabbage-palm hammocks" or
"palm savannas" if inland [1].

Cabbage palmetto growth may indicate sites influenced by subtropical
conditions [12] or frequent fires [15].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
The successional status of cabbage palmetto is disputed.  Wade and
Langdon [19] described it as shade-tolerant, and characteristic of
climatic climax, and fire climax communities.  Daubenmire [4], however,
described it as an early seral, woody invader of open savannas.
Similarly, Zona [23] reported that it is shade intolerant and that
seedlings under a closed canopy remain suppressed and form no
aboveground stem.  Stem elongation and sexual maturation await gap
formation in the canopy.  In more open habitats along forest edges, on
dunes, and in abandoned fields, growth and recruitment are immediate
with no suppressed stage.  Cabbage palmetto thrives in anthropogenic
habitats.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Cabbage palmetto flowers from April to August, depending on latitude.
Fruits begin to develop in the fall and are mature by winter [13,19,23].

Related categories for Species: Sabal palmetto | Cabbage Palmetto