PALMAE 79 



SERENOA, J. D. Hooker. (Only one species.) 



Serenoa serrulata (Mx.) B. &: H. (Corypha rcpcns Bartr. ?) 



Saw-palmetto 



(Map 11) 



Readily recognized by its pale yellowish green leaves, with 

 stalks armed along the edges with short stout prickles. In Ala- 

 bama and most other parts of its range its coarsely fibrous trunk 

 or rootstock lies prostrate on or just below the surface of the 

 ground, and its foliage is not more than knee-high ; but in some 

 parts of Florida, where there is sufficient protection from fire, 

 the leaves may be five or six* feet tall, or the trunk may stick up 

 in the air as much as ten feet, obliquely or even vertically. It 

 blooms mostly in June, but perhaps not every year in the same 

 plant. 



The leaves of this species are not quite as good as the pre- 

 ceding for decorative purposes, but the plant is more useful in 

 other ways. In Florida, where it is most abundant, short sections 

 of the trunk are made into brushes, and the leaf-stalks are some- 

 times shredded into '"hair" for plastering. Mattresses have been 

 made from the leaf-fiber in South Carolina, according to Porcher. 

 The plant contains considerable tannin, and is claimed to be suit- 

 able for paper pulp also. The terminal buds are edible, and the 

 tender young leaves are browsed by cattle. Hogs like to eat the 

 ripe fruit, which is about the size of a plum. This fruit has im- 

 portant medicinal properties, and is officinal in the U. S. Pharma- 

 copoeia. Large quantities of it have been shipped from Florida to 

 patent medicine manufacturers. 



This species is confined to regions with mild climate and 

 rainy summers, and in most parts of its range it grows in nearly 

 pure sand, where the ground-water is never far from the surface. 

 It can stand considerable fire. Its known distribution in Alabama 

 is about as follows : 



12. In deep sand along Pea River and Double Bridges Creek near 

 Geneva. 



13. Sand along creek east of Flomaton (December, 1905), along 

 Chickasawbogue Creek from about 11 to 21 miles northwest of Mobile, 

 and also in the vicinity of Mount Vernon and Grand Bay, and in the flat 

 country bordering the bay south of Mobile. In Baldwin I have seen it 

 near Little River at the north edge of the county, near Fish River east of 

 Fairhope, and southeast of Foley. 



15 Near Orange Beach, Baldwin County. 



