saw palmetto Arecaceae (Palmae) Serenoa repens (Bartram) Small symbol: SERE2 Leaf: Alternate, palmately compound, fan shaped, leaflets very long (2 to 3 feet) and lance shaped, leaf stalk with very sharp edges, blue green in color, over all leaf nearly round and several feet long. Flower: Small white flowers occurring on large (several feet), branched clusters, appearing in early summer. Fruit: Fleshy drupe, nearly round, 1/2 to 3/4 inch across, dark blue, maturing in early fall and persistent into the winter. Twig: Absent, since leaves appear directly out of an unbranched (occasionally branched), short trunk. Bark: Rough, covered with reddish brown, old leaf bases. Form: Bush or small tree with a sprawling horizontal trunk and a round crown of large, fan shaped leaves. Looks like: needle palm - bush palmetto - cabbage palmetto Additional Range Information: Serenoa repens is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. See states reporting saw palmetto. External Links: USDAFS Additional Silvics USDA Plants Database Horticulture © Copyright 2016, Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, all rights reserved. Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson