| Miami palmetto | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Genus: | Sabal |
| Species: | S. miamiensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sabal miamiensis Zona
| |
Sabal miamiensis, the Miami palmetto, is a rare plant species endemic to Dade County, Florida, in the vicinity of the city of Miami.
Taxonomy[edit]
The formal description of this as a new species was published in 1985, based largely on specimens collected in 1901.[2][3][4] Sabal miamiensis is closely related to S. etonia, of which it is sometimes considered a synonym, or a hybrid of S. etonia and S. palmetto.
Conservation[edit]
Only one population is known; it consists of a few individuals in Crandon Park, Miami, Florida. It is seriously threatened and may possibly already be extinct in the wild, although it is still in cultivation as an ornamental.[5] It has been collected in nature only from rocky pinelands in the region, areas which ae now rapidly becoming urbanized.
Description[edit]
Sabal miamiensis resembles S. etonia but has larger fruits (15–19 mm (0.59–0.75 in) in diameter) and an inflorescences with 3 orders of branching instead of 2. Stems are primarily subterranean, leaves no more than 6 per plant, each yellow-green and up to 85 cm (33.5 in) long. Flowers are creamy white, each 5-5.5 mm long. Fruits are black and fleshy.[6][7][8][9]
References[edit]
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0. Sabal miamiensis". explorer.natureserve.org.
- ^ Flora of North America v 22 p 109
- ^ Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Extinct Plants Index
- ^ Fairchild Botanical Garden, Fairchild Guide to Palms, herbarium sheet 53867, Sabal miamensis
- ^ Palmpedia, Floribunda Palms and Exotics
- ^ Zona, S. 1985. A new species of Sabal (Palmae) from Florida. Brittonia 37(4): 366–368.
- ^ Henderson, A., G. A. Galeano & R. Bernal. 1995. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas 1–352. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
- ^ Zona, S. 1990. A monograph of Sabal (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae). Aliso 12: 583--666.
- ^ Fox. D.A., & M.G. Andreu. 2012. Sorting out the Florida Sabal Palms. University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, FOR 289