SAW PALMETTO 69 



ground, this portion being surmounted by a dense crown of leaves. 

 The petioles are slender and spinose on the edges; the blade is fan- 

 shaped and consists of a number of palmate divisions which are 

 slightly cleft at the summit. The inflorescence is densely tomentose 

 and shorter than the leaves. The fruit is a 1-seeded drupe (Fig. 23). 



Fia. 24. Original packages of Saw Palmetto Berries (Sabal). After a photo- 

 graph by Parke, Davis & Co. 



Description Drupe superior, ellipsoidal ovoid or somewhat 

 globular, 1.5 to 3 err long. 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter; externally brown- 

 ish-black, smooth somewhat oily, with a few large, somewhat angular 

 depressions due tc the contraction of the inner layer on drying; sum- 

 mit marked by remains of style; base marked by stem-scar or with 

 remains of stem; epicarp and sarcocarp together forming a thin cori- 



