THE CABBAGE PALMETTO 



THE Palmetto or Cabbage Palmetto is one of the most characteristic features oi 

 the landscape in Florida and neighboring States. Although the species is found 

 as far north as North Carolina, it does not attain there the size and dignity that 

 it does along the gulf coast of Florida, where it becomes a large tree that adds a strange 

 beauty to the borders of the lakes and rivers that abound in that region. The young 

 trees are found everywhere in Florida, making a scrubby growth that the imagination 

 of the Northern tourist is likely to people with rattlesnakes and other animals whose 

 presence encourages him to keep to the main travelled roads. 



The Palmetto is a typical example of the Palm family, the most notable of tree 

 families in tropical regions. All the members of this group are characterized by growing 

 straight upward from a single terminal bud, which in the case of this palmetto furnishes 

 the so-called "cabbage," to which are due the names Cabbage Palmetto and Cabbage 

 Tree, the large bud being commonly cooked and eaten, though its loss causes the death of 

 the tree. All of the palms also have a curious rind-like bark, from which the thick, spread- 

 ing leaf-stalks arise, stalks that remain upon the Palmetto tree long after the leaf -blades 

 have broken off, giving the upper part of the trunk a curious and characteristic appearance. 



The direct utility of the Palmetto is not confined to the furnishing of the sacrificial 

 bud for cooking. The leaves serve admirably for the thatching of temporary roofs, and 

 when young furnish strips which are used in the making of hats, baskets and similar articles. 

 Parts of the leaf-stems and the outer bark are utilized in the manufacture of cheap scrub- 

 bing-brushes, while the trunks themselves, being durable under water and not attacked 

 by the borers that affect wood in salt water, are quite generally used for wharf -piles. 



In the Southeastern States the Palmetto makes an excellent tree for street and 

 ornamental planting. Mr. H. Nehrling, who has made a special study of the growing of 

 palms in Florida, writes in the "Cyclopedia of Horticulture:" "Even goodsized trees are 

 not difficult to transplant if the whole stem is carefully dug out and all of the roots and 

 leaves are cut off. If the stem has been set at least three feet deep, and the soil is kept 

 well watered after planting, the Palmetto is almost sure to live." It responds quickly to 

 good culture and an abundance of nitrogenous fertilizer. 



Several other members of the Palm Family grow within the limits of the United 

 States. The most splendid of these is the magnificent Royal Palm {Roystonea regia) 

 which occurs in Southern Florida, as well as in the Bermudas, throughout the West Indies 

 and in Central America. Other smaller palms occur along the Florida coast and adjacent 

 islands, while in the far Southwest still other forms are found. 



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