PALM.E 



103 



irregular interrupted fissures into broad ridges, with a short pointed knob-like under- 

 ground stem surrounded by a dense mass of contorted roots often 4 or 5 in diameter and 

 5 or 6 deep, from which tough light orange-colored roots often nearly ' in diameter pene- 

 trate the soil for a distance of 15 or 20, and a broad crown of leaves at first upright, 

 then spreading nearly at right angles with the stem, and finally pendulous. Wood light, 

 soft, pale brown, or occasionally nearly black, with numerous hard fibro-vascular bundles, 

 the outer rim about 2' thick and much lighter and softer than the interior. In the southern 

 states the trunks are used for wharf-piles, and polished cross sections of the stem some- 

 times serve for the tops of small tables; the wood is largely manufactured into canes. From 

 the sheaths of young leaves the bristles of scrubbing-brushes are made. The large succulent 

 leaf-buds are cooked and eaten as a vegetable, and coarse hats, mats, and baskets are made 

 from the leaves. Pieces of the spongy bark of the stem are used as a substitute for 

 scrubbing-brushes. 



Distribution. Sandy soil in the immediate neighborhood of the coast from the neigh- 

 borhood of Cape Hatteras and Smith Island at the mouth of Cape Fear River, North Caro- 

 lina, southward near the coast to northern Florida; in Florida extending across the penin- 

 sula and south to Upper Metacomb Key, and along the west coast to Saint Andrews Bay; 

 most abundant and of its largest size on the west coast of the Florida peninsula. 



Often planted as a street tree in the cities of the southern states. 



2. Sabal texana Becc. Palmetto. 



Sabal mexicana S. Wats., not Mart. 



Leaves dark yellow-green and lustrous, 5-6 long, often 7 wide, divided nearly to the 

 middle into narrow divided segments, with thickened pale margins separating into long 



Fig. 100 



thin fibres, with ligules about 6' long; petioles 7-8 long, 1^' wide at the apex. Flowers: 

 spadix 7-8 long, with stout ultimate divisions; flowers in Texas appearing in March or 

 April in the axils of persistent bracts half as long as the perianth. Fruit ripening early in 

 the summer, globose, often 2 or 3-lobed; seeds nearly \' broad and \' wide, dark chestnut- 

 brown, with a broad shallow basal cavity, and a conspicuous orange-colored hilum. 



A tree, with a trunk 30-50 high, often 2 in diameter, and a broad head of erect ul- 

 timately pendulous leaves. Wood light, soft, pale brown tinged with red, with thick 

 light-colored rather inconspicuous fibro-vascular bundles, the outer rim 1' thick, soft, and 

 light colored. On the Gulf coast the trunks are used for wharf -piles, and on the lower 

 Rio Grande the leaves for the thatch of houses. 



