''Sabal bermudana'', commonly known as the Bermuda palmetto or bibby-tree, is one of 15 species of
palm trees
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 (b ...
in the genus ''
Sabal
''Sabal'' is a genus of palms (or fan-palms) endemic to the New World. Currently, there are 17 recognized species of ''Sabal'', including one hybrid species. The species are native to the subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, from th ...
'' and is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
to
Bermuda
)
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although reportedly naturalized in the
Leeward Islands. It was greatly affected by the introduction of non-native plants such as the
Chinese fan palm, which created competition for space that it usually lost.
Description
''Sabal bermudana'' grows up to in height, with the occasional old tree growing up to in height, with a trunk up to in diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe
Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare
petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous
leaflets. Each
leaf
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 ...
is long, with 45-60 leaflets up to long. 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 mechanism ...
s are yellowish-white, across, produced in large
panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is ...
s 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 partic ...
is a deep brown to 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 (''kerne ...
about long containing a single
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...
. It is extremely
salt-tolerant and is often seen growing near the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
coast in Bermuda, and also
frost-tolerant, surviving short periods of temperatures as low as -14 °C, although no such temperatures have ever occurred in Bermuda.
[Bailey, Liberty Hyde. 1934. Gentes Herbarum; Occasional Papers on the Kinds of Plants 3: 326, ''Sabal bermudana'']
Uses
Bermudians used to use, for a short period, the leaflets of the palm to weave into hats and export them to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and other countries. ''Sabal bermudana'' also had holes drilled into its trunk and
sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
extracted to make "bibby", a strong
alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
.
During the 17th century, most
houses in Bermuda
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
had palmetto-
thatched
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 ...
roofs.
References
External links
200-year-old palm comes down in Edinburgh Botanics renovationsBBC News
{{Taxonbar, from=Q738459
bermudana
Flora of Bermuda
Flora of the Leeward Islands
Plants described in 1934
Endangered plants
Taxa named by Liberty Hyde Bailey