Florida Native Plant Society Blog

Properly pruned sabal palm. THE TREE OF LIFE It's not a well-known fact, but this most regal name for the Sabal palm (pronounced Sāʼbăl) ( Sabal palmetto ) originated with Native Americans, perhaps on seeing their first palm trees. With that being the case, it bodes for us to pay closer attention to the heritage of our state symbol. LIFE HISTORY These nobles began life in the Unite States in our southeastern region after having wandered north from the Caribbean area where they can thrive here today—with the proper care. They are also commonly called Cabbage, Palmetto or Hat palms, with 16 species spread across northeastern Mexico to Florida. They find a comfortable habitat in open areas, where the dunes flow and flats tidal, savannas breeze, occasionally swamp shades and even—salt marshes! How many of us know that the State of Florida has honored this tree by designating it as the official state tree—that happened in 1953—more than likely because it's all over the...

Royal palms ( Roystonea regia ) at the Four Arts Center in Palm Beach. Regal! What would the Florida landscape be without our palm trees? Those gracefully curved trunks and topknots of fronds are mainstays of any tropical setting. While many palms serve as trees in the landscape, they are not true trees, botanically speaking, because they don't have a cambium layer under a coating of bark and cannot develop annual layers of wood like actual trees. Palms are monocots and are more like grasses. A cross-section of a palm shows a curly or random fibrous grain rather than annual rings. This arrangement of woody tissue is usually quite flexible, making palms an excellent choice for wind tolerant landscaping. A palm cross-section shows that there are no annual rings and no true wood--just a fibrous mass. After a palm seed sprouts, the plant goes into the establishment phase for several years when it looks and behaves like a shrubby palmetto. This time is necessary for the...

Did you know that Arbor Day is celebrated on different dates from state to state? When you think about it, it makes sense; spring comes earlier in some places than others! Florida and Louisiana lead the pack with the first Arbor Day date, which is the third Friday in January. Our state tree is the cabbage palm, Sabal palmetto , Louisiana’s is the Bald cypress.   National Arbor Day is celebrated the last Friday in April. Twenty eight states also use that for their own Arbor Day activities. The other states use dates that coincide with their planting times, sometimes on the same date that the state’s governor made the original proclamation to be part of the Arbor Day event. Our next post is going to give you some help with choosing a tree that you will like and that is good for the region you live in. We will also have some warnings about using trees from the official Artbor Day list, and how to say ‘no’ to the free tree that won’t grow where you live. Cabbage pa...