Appearance
''Sabal palmetto'' grows up to 65 ft in height in height, with a trunk up to 2 ft diameter. It is a distinct fan palm, with a bare petiole which extends as a center spine or midrib, 1/2 to 2/3 the length into a rounded, costapalmate fan of numerous leaflets.A costapalmate leaf has a definite costa unlike the typical palmate or fan leaf, but the leaflets are arranged radially like in a palmate leaf. All costapalmate leaves are markedly recurved or arched backwards. Each leaf is 5 to 6.5 ft long, with 40-60 leaflets up to 2.6 ft long.
The flowers are yellowish-white, .20 in across, produced in large compound panicles up to 8.2 ft long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit is a black drupe about .5 in long containing a single seed. It is extremely salt-tolerant and is often seen growing near both the Atlantic Ocean coast and the Gulf of Mexico coast.
Distribution
In the United States the native range of Sabal Palmetto is the coastal plains of the Gulf states and south Atlantic states from Cape Fear, North Carolina south to Florida. It is the state tree of both South Carolina and Florida.References:
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