Sabal

Palmettos, Sabal species

by Bob Harms (

)

Dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor)

Dwarf palmettos are native to wet areas in the hill country, the nearest to Purola Preserve is on a small creek that flows into Dead Man's Canyon (on the Acacia Preserve), 2 miles downstream. Another, larger, stand is high on a hill ledge, where the canyon intersects the Pedernales River (photo immediately below).

Smaller S. minor plants have been successfully transplanted to a wide range of habitats, some of which are seasonally very dry. As part of a plant rescue mission in a hill country creekbed we moved plants from an area to be bulldozed. In spite of our efforts it was not possible to get enough root to save even medium-sized plants. What appeared to be large succulent root-like bases are in fact the underground trunks typical of S. minor - not roots at all, and not given to generating new roots. With the smaller transplants new growth was extremely slow. I would urge anyone wishing to plant a dwarf palmetto to obtain a strong established plant from a local nursery rather than putting native plants in peril. But if the goal is to cultivate an attractive native palm that is well adapted to a much wider range of habitats in Texas, I strongly recommend S. mexicana or a Brazoria palmetto.


Salvaged plant after 6 years, still waiting for new growth. This was the sole survivor among those plants with a full 'fan.'	The same plant c. 17 years later, with all new growth, having started almost from scratch.

Brazoria Sabal Palmetto

We received a small 1-gallon palmetto in 1977 from a University of Texas project for propagating rare and uncommon native plants - originally from seeds collected in Brazoria County, the only area where such forms, known as Brazoria palmettos, have been noted. I placed it in a sunny area with constant springs. The choice was a good one, and now the plant is over 12 feet tall, 14 feet wide, and has bloomed for many years. But unlike Sabal minor, the identification that we were given at the time we received it, our plant developed a substantial trunk (34 inches high and 2 feet wide at the base in 2007), has strongly costapalmate leaves, and its inflorescence is contained within the crown of leaves. On the other hand, unlike Sabal mexicana, the other Texas native palm, the leaf segments lack the abundant distinguishing 'threads' (remnants of a vein of abscission creating the deep cleft between the segments) and the fruits are small, pea-sized.

Some 168 volunteer Brazoria palmettos have now appeared (as of spring 2009) in areas that have seasonal moisture, some over 500 feet distant. (For images and a map showing the distribution of seedlings.)

Although the Brazoria palmetto has generally been considered a S. minor × S. mexicana hybrid, recent DNA research (Origin and relationships of the Brazoria palmetto (Arecaceae: Sabal) based on AFLP data) seems to rule out S. mexicana as a factor in its origin. Its species status remains a mystery.

c. 1981	1984
1988
1998	1997

Another trait shared by our plant with S. mexicana is the natural germination of seeds under and close to the fruiting plant, where a small colony of seedlings now exists.

Growing palmettos from seed

Starting palmettos from seed seems to require a cold period. Nokes (1986) indicates that 30 days at 38 F will facilitate germination. Fall planting with spring germination has worked for our hybrid palmetto, but so has storing over the winter in our refrigerator. Although we didn't initially remove the pulp from around the seed, we had better results when it was removed, but discovered that retaining the thin membrane immediately covering the seed promoted germination. Most likely it provides some degree of constant moisture.

Germination of S. mexicana seedlings — seeds with & without membranes as indicated.

S. mexicana	Brazoria Sabal

Seedlings emerging in 5-gallon pots.

Deer do not normally bother palmettos, but young seedlings have been trimmed by virtue of browsing of adjacent plants. During the drought of 2006 Sabal seedlings in 5-gallon pots were left without protection in a shady area and kept moist. Soon the pots also contained columbines. As deer visited the area, they continually trimmed the columbines, but didn't touch the Sabal leafs. As with any recent plantings, especially in moist areas, protection from armadillos is important.

S. mexicana plant from the set shown above, at 4 years. It has been unprotected in an area frequented by deer.

To Flora of Texas — Hays County Flora