Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

cabbage palmetto Arecaceae Sabal palmetto (Walter) Lodd. ex Schult. & Schult. f. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: SAPA
Leaf: Alternate, palmately compound, fan shaped;
Flower: Small white flowers occurring on large (several feet), branched clusters, appearing in early summer.
Fruit: Fleshy drupe, nearly round, 1/3 to 1/2 inch across, dark shiny blue, maturing in early fall and persistent into the winter.
Twig: Absent, since leaves appear directly out of unbranched trunk.
Bark: Gray-brown, tough, splits vertically.
Form: Tall (to 80 feet), straight trunk with a short rounded crown.
 Looks like: bush palmetto - Everglades palm - needle palm - saw palmetto

leaf
twig
fruit
bark
form1
map

Additional Range Information: Sabal palmetto is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS Silvics of North America - USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information