Sabal minor, commonly known as the dwarf palmetto,[ It is often found growing in calcareous marl soil.]
Distribution
This palm's native range spans on the Atlantic Coast from central Florida north to Monkey Island, North Carolina.[ On the Gulf Coast, it spans from central Florida to central Texas, Arkansas, north to southern Oklahoma and northern Alabama, then south in the State of Nuevo León in Mexico.][ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
Description
Sabal minor grows up to in height, with a trunk up to diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaf with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. Each leaf is long, with 40 leaflets up to long, conjoined over half of this length. The are yellowish-white, across, produced in large compound up to long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit is a black drupe long containing a single seed.[ Sabal minor in Flora of North America]
While usually being small and shrubby, Sabal minor can become tree-like as it ages.
Cultivation
Sabal minor is one of the most cold hardy palms in cultivation; however, it does best when grown in hot and humid tropical summer conditions, and may struggle or grow slowly in cool summer climates. It is leaf hardy to near , and has been known to survive brief periods of temperatures. It is generally cultivated in subtropical and warm temperate climates. S.minor can grow in a wide variety of soil types, and is often found submerged in swamps in the southeastern United States. It grows in both full sun and shaded locations, though it will do best in the cooler garden zones (below Hardiness zone) in full sun and a wind-sheltered location.
In the United States, since the 1960s, cultivation of Sabal minor has spread beyond the deep southern United States. S.minor is cultivated along the East Coast from Florida to Connecticut, and on the West Coast from Vancouver BC south to San Diego. It is a recommended horticultural plant by the Virginia Cooperative Extension.[ Care Sheet for Sabal minor or "Dwarf Palmetto" in Virginia Landscapes Fact and Care Sheet for Virginia Gardens] There are several cultivars, including those from the Outer Banks (northernmost strains), and those from Oklahoma and Texas. One popular strain is 'McCurtain', named after McCurtain County, Oklahoma, where they are native. These tend to remain trunkless and smaller than those from warmer areas. S.minor is a popular landscape palm in coastal resort areas from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to southern Texas.
Gallery
File:Palmetto state park.jpg|Dwarf palmettos ( Sabal minor) at Palmetto State Park, Texas (June 2, 2007)
File:Big Thicket National Preserve, Lance Rosier Unit, Hardin Co. Texas, USA, 23 October 2019.jpg| Sabal minor and resurrection fern ( Pleopeltis polypodioides) growing on oak limb, Big Thicket National Preserve, Hardin County, Texas (October 23, 2019)
File:SabalMinorLargoFlorida.jpg| Sabal minor grouping in natural setting.
File:Dwarf Palmetto (10562472575).jpg|A dwarf palmetto frond in Congaree National Park, South Carolina (November 8, 2008)
File:SabalMinorhabitatSwamp.jpg| Sabal minor in saltwater marsh habitat, Hatteras North Carolina.
File:OldSabalMinorFriscoNC.jpg| Sabal minor often start showing a trunk once they get very old. This example is around 100 years old in Frisco, North Carolina.
File:After Blizzard 1.4.14 3.jpg| Sabal minor and the Rhapidophyllum, also from the Southeast, are some of the world's most freeze-hardy palm species.
File:Sabal minor small.jpg| Young Sabal minor
File:SabalMinor A&S.jpg|A naturalistic planting of Sabal minor outside the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Sabal minor MHNT.BOT.2018.28.30.jpg| Sabal minor - MHNT
External links
