ARECACEAE 223 
filamentose: ligule partially united to the rachis: petioles concave above, sharp-edged. 
Spadix decompound, commonly drooping. Flowers perfect. Perianth white or green, 
glabrous, sessile, not accrescent. Calyx cup-shaped. Sepals 3, unequal. Petals 3, nearly 
distinct, imbricated. Stamens 6: filaments subulate or lanceolate, their dilated bases 
united and adnate to the corolla. Ovary 3-celled : style 3-angled : stigma truncate. 
Drupe usually developed from 1 carpel, with a membranous epicarp and a fleshy pericarp. 
Seed solitary, spheroidal, erect with a dark brown, shining testa. Endosperm horny. 
The plants flower chiefly during the spring and summer. 
Shrubs with subterranean or creeping stems. 
Spadices 1-2 m. long, erect or ascending at maturity : corolla-lobes about 2 mm. long: 
drupes less than 10 mm. in diameter. 1. S. glabra. 
Spadices 5-8 dm. long, prostrate at maturity: eorolla-lobes 3-3.5 mm. long: drupes 
over 10 mm. in diameter. 2. S. megacarpa. 
Trees with elongated upright trunks. 
Spadices less than 1 m. long: bracts deciduous : drupes 5-8 mm. in diameter. 3. S. Palmetto. 
Spadices over 1.5 m. long: bracts persistent : drupes 10-13 mm. in diameter. 4. S. Mexicana. 
1. Sabal glabra ( Mill.) Sarg. A low shrub, with a subterranean stem several dm. 
long. Leaves clustered, 8-16 dm. tall ; blades suborbicular, 4-10 dm. in diameter, glau- 
cous or pale green, the segments shallowly cleft at the apex, fully as long as the body of the 
leaf or shorter ; ligule 1-2 cm. long ; petioles shorter than the blades : spadices erect or as- 
cending, 1-2 m. long, the ultimate branches slender, many-flowered : perianth whitish : 
calyx about 1 mm. high : sepals acute or acutish : petals over twice as long as the calyx, 
oblong, concave: drupes subglobose, about 8 mm. in diameter, black. [S. Adansonit 
Guerns. ] 
In low grounds along or near streams, South Carolina to Florida and Louisiana. DWARF PALMETTO. 
BLUE-STEM. 
2. Sabal megacárpa (Chapm.) Small. A lowshrub, with creeping elongated contorted 
stems. Leaves several, 8-14 dm. tall; blades suborbicular, 4-8 dm. in diameter, the seg- 
ments longer than the body, deeply cleft at the apex, filamentose ; petioles longer than the 
blades, sharp-edged : spadices 5-8 dm. long, early erect or ascending, but prostrate at 
maturity, branching above : perianth yellowish white : calyx about 1.5 mm. long: sepals 
broad : petals elliptic, 3-3.5 mm. long, obtuse, 5-nerved, concave: stamens about as long 
as the petals: drupes subglobose, 15-20 mm. in diameter. [S. Etonia Swingle. ] 
In the scrub or coral sand, peninsular Florida | SCRUB PALMETTO. 
3. Sabal Palmétto ( Walt.) R. & S. A tree ranging from 5 to 20 m. in height, with 
a maximum trunk diameter of about 6 dm. Leaves widely spreading or drooping ; blades 
often slightly broader than long, 1.5-2.5 m. in diameter, deep green and lustrous, the seg- 
ments cleft, filamentose ; ligule about 10 em. long; petioles stout, about as long as the 
blades: spadices 6-8 dm. long, more or less drooping; branches recurved, the ultimate 
divisions slender : flowers in the axils of acute deciduous bracts : sepals triangular, shorter 
than the perianth-tube: petals oblong or oblong-lanceolate, about as long as the subulate 
filaments : drupes subglobose, 5-8 mm. in diameter. 
On or near the coast, North Carolinato Florida. PALMETTO. CABBAGE PALMETTO. CABBAGE TREE. 
4. Sabal Mexicana Mart. A tree often 8-16 m. tall, with a maximum trunk diam- 
eter of about 8 dm. Leaves ample; blades 1.5-2 m. in diameter, lustrous, yellowish 
green, the segments often parted, filamentose ; ligules about 15 cm. long; petioles stout, 
as long as the blades or longer: spadices 2-2.5 m. long, spreading or drooping ; branches 
spreading, the ultimate divisions stout: flowers in the axils of scarious persistent bracts : 
sepals about as long as the perianth-tube, obtuse : petals oblong-lanceolate, acutish, about as 
long as the lanceolate filaments: drupes subglobose, 10-13 mm. in diameter, or 2-3-lobed. 
In sandy soil, along the Rio Grande, Texas and northern Mexico. 
4. SERENOA Hook. 
Armed trees, or low plants, with creeping or horizontal stems. Leaves clustered : 
blades fan-shaped, suborbicular, many-cleft, the segments narrow, 2-cleft at the apex, 
without a rachis: ligule short: petioles armed on the edges with rigid spine-like teeth. 
Spadix elongated, zigzag, pubescent. Flowers perfect, sessile, not accrescent, each sub- 
tended by a bract and 2 bractlets. Sepals partially united. Petals valvate, 2-keeled 
within. Stamens 6: filaments filiform, adnate to the corolla below. Carpels 3, free at the 
base, 3-angled, each narrowed into a slender style with a minute stigma. Drupe ovoid or 
globose, with a thin fleshy pericarp which is slightly fibrous within. Seed erect, solitary, 
