''Sabal minor'', commonly known as the dwarf palmetto, is a small species of palm. It is native to the deep southeastern and south-central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and northeastern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is naturally found in a diversity of habitats, including maritime forests, swamps, floodplains, and occasionally on drier sites. It is often found growing in

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

soil. ''Sabal minor'' is one of the most frost and cold tolerant among

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n palms.

Distribution

This palm's native range spans on the Atlantic Coast from central

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

north to

Monkey Island, North Carolina Monkey Island is a remote, natural island located in Currituck Sound, North Carolina and is part of the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. Contrary to its name, there are no monkeys on Monkey Island. It is named for the Pamunkey nation that once ...

. On the Gulf Coast, it spans from central Florida to central

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, north to southern

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and northern

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, then south in the State of

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Description

''Sabal Minor'' grows up to 3 meters in height, with a trunk up to diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

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

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are yellowish-white, across, produced in large compound panicles up to long, extending out beyond the leaves. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a black

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

long containing a single seed.''Sabal minor''
in Flora of North America

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 The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. It grows in both full sun and shaded locations, though it will do best in the cooler garden zones (below zone USDA 7) 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

to coastal

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, and on the West Coast from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

BC south to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. 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''
/ref> There are several cultivars, including those from the

Outer Banks of North Carolina The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

(northernmost strains), and those from

and

. 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 Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, Virginia, to southern Texas.

Gallery

File:Palmetto state park.jpg, Dwarf palmettos (''Sabal minor'') at Palmetto State Park, Texas USA (2 June 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 Co. Texas, USA (23 October 2019) File:SabalMinorLargoFlorida.jpg, ''Sabal minor'' grouping in natural setting. File:Dwarf Palmetto (10562472575).jpg, A dwarf palmetto frond Congaree National Park, South C, USA (8 November 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. Frisco NC File:After Blizzard 1.4.14 3.jpg, Sabal minor and

Needle Palm ''Rhapidophyllum hystrix'', the needle palm, is a palm, the sole member of the genus ''Rhapidophyllum''. It is native to coastal margins of the subtropical eastern Gulf and south Atlantic states of the United States. Endemic populations can be ...

, also from the southeast, are 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, DC. Sabal minor MHNT.BOT.2018.28.30.jpg, ''Sabal minor'' - MHNT

References

External links

Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map

Interactive Distribution Map for ''Sabal minor''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q244278

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

Flora of the Southern United States Plants described in 1776 Flora of Nuevo León