''Sabal domingensis'', the Hispaniola palmetto, is a species of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

which is native to Hispaniola (in both the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

and Haiti) and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Description

''Sabal domingensis'' is a

fan palm Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms (Arecaceae) in various genera with leaves that are palmately lobed (rather than pinnately compound). Most are members of the subfamily Coryphoideae, though a few ...

with solitary, very stout stems, which grows up to tall and in diameter. Plants have 20–30 leaves, each with about 90 leaflets. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s, which are branched, arching and at least as long as the leaves, bear pear-shaped, black fruit. The fruit are in diameter; fruit size and shape are the main characteristics by which this species differs from '' Sabal causiarum''.

Common names

In English, ''Sabal domingensis'' is known as the "Hispaniola palmetto", "Hispaniola palm", or "Dominican palm". In

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, it is known (along with '' Sabal causiarum'') as ''palma cana'' in the Dominican Republic, and in Haitian Creole as ''latanier-chapeau''.

Distribution

''Sabal domingensis'' is found from northwest Haiti to the central Dominican Republic on Hispaniola, and is also present in Cuba. It is usually found in secondary vegetation between above sea level.

Uses

The leaves are used for

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

and to weave a variety of items including hats, baskets and mats. SabalDomingensisBokeeliaFl

Etymology

The species has been given the specific epithet ''domingensis'', as it occurs on the island of Hispaniola; the island was historically called

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, or Saint-Domingue.

References

External links

''Sabal Domingensis Info''
Floridata {{Taxonbar, from=Q845838 domingensis Trees of Haiti Trees of the Dominican Republic Trees of Cuba Plants described in 1908 Taxa named by Odoardo Beccari