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. globra. 



Spadices 5-8 dm. long, prostrate at maturity : corolla-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. Adansonii 

 Guerns. ] 



In low grounds along or near streams, South Carolina to Florida and Louisiana. DWARF PALMETTO. 

 BLUE-STEM. 



2. Sabal megacarpa (Chapm. ) Small. A low shrub, 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. [/SI Etonia Swingle. ] 



In the scrub or coral sand, peninsular Florida SCRUB PALMETTO. 



3. Sabal Palmetto (Walt. ) K. & 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 cm. long ; petioles stout, about as long as the 

 blades : spadices 6-8 dm. long, more or less dropping ; 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 Carolina to 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, 



