Summary ²

The saw palmetto is a Florida native, perennial, evergreen, low, shrubby palm that grows in a wide variety of habitats including flatwoods, prairies, scrub, mesic hammocks, maritime forests, short-hydroperiod swamps and sandy dunes. Plants are typically 2 to 8 ft. tall. They arise from subterranean or prostate stems and may grow in clumps up to 18 ft. in diameter. The palmate leaves of saw palmetto are 2 to 3 ft. in diameter with 18-30 segments, and are borne on sharply saw-toothed petioles that are approximately 2 ft. long. Most saw palmettos have green leaves, but a form with blue leaves can be found along the southeast coast of Florida. Three-foot-long flower stalks appear between Feburary and April, covered with small, yellow-white, fragrant flowers. Flowers produce round fruits called "drupes" that are 0.5 in. in diameter and ripen from yellow to black from September to October. Saw palmetto leaves and drupes provide cover and food for over 211 species of wildlife. Drupes can also be consumed by humans, and they have reportedly been used for the treatment of 63 commonly occurring medical conditions.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) t_kok, all rights reserved
2. (c) t_kok, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

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