Sabal
(said to be a native name in South America; but Adanson, who originated the genus, gives no explanation). Some of the species were formerly included under Chamaerops and Corypha. ORD. Palmae. A genus embracing six species of dwarf, tall, or nearly stemless, stove, greenhouse, or half-hardy, unarmed palms, inhabiting tropical and sub-tropical America. Flowers white or greenish, small, glabrous; spathes tubular; spadices large, elongated, decompound, at first erect, with slender, decurved or pendulous branches and branchlets; bracts and bracteoles minute. Fruit black, small or mediocre. Leaves terminal, orbicular or cuneate at base, flabellately multifid; segments linear, bifid, induplicate in vernation; rachis short or elongated; petioles concave above, the margins acute and unarmed. The species, most of which are highly ornamental, succeed in a light loamy soil. A few suckers are sometimes emitted; these should be taken off when about 1ft. long, and, if they have no roots, must at first be carefully nursed. Seeds, however, are by far the best means of propagation.
S. Adansonii (Adanson's).* Dwarf Palmetto. fl., petals united at the base; style thick; spadix erect, 3ft. to 6ft. high, smooth, slender. June and July. fr. black, 1/3in. in diameter. l. circular in outline, glaucous, fan-shaped, slightly pinnatifid, 2ft. to 3ft. high; divisions twenty to thirty, slightly cleft at apex, sparingly filmentous at the sinuses; petioles stout, concave, smooth-edged, shorter than the leaves. Trunk short, buried in the earth. Southern United States, 1810. Greenhouse or half-hardy. (B. M. 1434.) S. Blackburniana (Blackburn's).* Fan or Thatch Palm. fl., spadix rising from the sinus of the leaf, spreading, 4ft. to 5ft. long, glabrous, alternately branched; peduncle simple and compressed below. l. twenty to thirty, forming a sub-globose tuft, cordate-sub-orbicular, 5ft. to 6ft. long; segments of adult leaves about eighty, ensiform, long-acuminate, more or less deeply bifid at apex, the lower ones connate about two-thirds, the upper ones one-third, their length; petioles arcuate-spreading, 6ft. to 8ft. long, very convex at back, the margins acute and unarmed. Trunk cylindrical, nearly 1ft. in diameter, slow-growing, at length 20ft. to 25ft. high. Bermudas, 1825. This is admirably suited for a window plant when small, and for the sub-tropical garden in summer. SYN. S. umbraculifera (of Martius).
S. coerulescens (bluish). l. (known only in the young state) elongated, linear-lanceolate, with a plicate surface and a bluish or glaucous tinge of green, which is most strongly marked on the under surface. West Indies (?), 1875. Greenhouse.
S. mauritiaeformis (Mauritia-like). Savana Palm. fl., spadix exceeding the leaves, the branches paniculate. fr. black, about the size of a pea. l. 12ft. in diameter, sub-orbicular, glaucous beneath, multifid to the middle, with loose fibres between the bifid lobes; petioles 7ft. to 8ft. long. Trunk 1ft. to 1 1/4ft. thick, little annulate, but reaching a height of 60ft. to 80ft. Venezuela, Trinidad, 1860. Stove. SYN. Trithrinax mauritiaeformis. S. Palmetto (Palmetto).* Cabbage Palmetto; Palmetto Palm. fl., petals slightly united at the base; style thick; spadix smooth and spreading, commonly shorter than the leaves. June. fr. black, four to five lines in diameter. l. 5ft. to 8ft. long, cordate in outline, flabellately-pinnatifid, recurved at the summit, the base long-persistent; divisions very numerous, deeply cleft, and with thread-like filaments at the sinuses; petioles smooth concave, mostly longer than the leaves. Trunk erect, 20ft. to 40ft. high, simple, leafy at the summit. Southern United States, 1825. Greenhouse. SYN. Chamaerops Palmetto. S. serrulata (serrulated). A synonym of Serenoa serrulata. S. umbraculifera (umbrella-bearing).* fl. whitish; petals equalling the stamens; spadix 4ft. to 5ft. long, with paniculate branches. fr. greenish-black, four to five lines in diameter. l. 4in. to 6in. in diameter, sub-orbicular, glaucescent, multifid to one-third to two-thirds, with loose fibres between the bifid lobes; petioles 6ft. to 8ft. long. Trunk at length 60ft. to 80ft. high. West Indies, 1825. Greenhouse.
S. umbraculifera (umbrella-bearing), of Martius. A synonym of S. Blackburniana.