''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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and northeastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

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

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

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n palms.

Distribution

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

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

north to Monkey Island, North Carolina. On the Gulf Coast, it spans from central Florida to central

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, north to southern

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and northern

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, then south in the State of

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Description

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

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

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 Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are yellowish-white, across, produced in large compound

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s up to long, extending out beyond the leaves. The

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

is a black

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

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 known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

. 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

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, 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 cit ...

BC south to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. 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 (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 (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

, Virginia, to southern Texas.

Gallery

File:Palmetto state park.jpg, Dwarf palmettos (''Sabal minor'') at Palmetto State Park, Texas (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 ''Pleopeltis polypodioides'', common name resurrection fern, is a species of creeping, coarse-textured fern native to the Americas and Africa. Description The evergreen fronds of ''Pleopeltis polypodioides'' are 25 cm high by 5 cm wid ...

'') growing on oak limb, Big Thicket National Preserve, Hardin Co. Texas (23 October 2019) File:SabalMinorLargoFlorida.jpg, ''Sabal minor'' grouping in natural setting. File:Dwarf Palmetto (10562472575).jpg, A dwarf palmetto frond in

Congaree National Park Congaree National Park is a national park of the United States in central South Carolina, 18 miles southeast of the state capital, Columbia. The park preserves the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United Sta ...

, South Carolina (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 in Frisco, NC. File:After Blizzard 1.4.14 3.jpg, ''Sabal minor'' and the

needle palm ''Rhapidophyllum hystrix'', the needle palm, is a palm native to coastal margins of the subtropical eastern Gulf and south Atlantic states of the United States. Populations can be found from coastal southeast South Carolina, southward to Florida ...

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