The Palms and the Palmettos 



it a beautiful and showy tree. It mounts its leaf crown 20 or 

 30 feet high on a slender white stem which is clothed half way 

 down in the sheaths of dead leaf stalks. The branched flower 

 stems are pendant from among the leaves; the fruit is a white 

 berry with bitter juice. The tree inhabits coral reefs and the 

 mainland coast between Cape Romano and Cape Sable. 



Another silver-leaved Thatch (T. Keyensis, Sarg.) rises on a 

 supporting framework of its own roots 2 or 3 feet above the 

 beach sand of the Marquesas Keys, Crab Key and the Bahamas. 



The Silver-top Palmetto {T. microcarpa, Sarg.) has its 

 leaves coated when they unfold with dense white down. Flowers 

 and fruit are abundant but minute. The tree rarely exceeds 

 25 feet in height. It inhabits No Name and Bahia Hondo Keys, 

 south of Florida. The leaves of the three species are used for 

 weaving hats, baskets and ropes. The trunks are used as piles 

 for wharves. 



6. Genus COCCOTHRINAX, Sarg. 



The Brittle Thatch (Coccothrinax jucunda, Sarg.) is a 

 s.ender tree, 20 to 30 feet high, with a gradually tapering blue 

 trunk. It inhabits the shores of Bay Biscayne, and follows the 

 Keys to the Marquesas group. The round leaves furnish fibre 

 for baskets and hats. The stems are used in construction, chiefly 

 for wharves. 



7. Genus SABAL, Adans. 



The Cabbage Palmetto {Sabal Palmetto, R. & S.) is one 

 of the characteristic features of the southeastern coast. It 

 attains its largest size on the west coast of Florida. Its western 

 limit on the Gulf is the mouth of the Appalachicola River. It 

 extends north to the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. 



A crown of spreading, fan-like leaves surmounts a stout 

 stem which is covered for a considerable distance from the top 

 with the broad concave petioles of the leaves. These are finally 

 split by the enlargement of the growing stem, giving the trunk 

 the appearance of being encased in a kind of regular basketwork. 

 Trees 20 feet high are common along sandy shores. Less frequently 

 North, but often in Florida, one sees these trees 30 to 40 feet tall. 



