166 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
garden, but they are all very slow 
growers. The leaves are flat, divided 
into about forty lobes. Where the 
rather short leaf-stem joins the blade 
there is a triangular, greenish-white 
spot. It is a large and distinct palm, 
and closely allied to our native species. 
See “Garden and Forest/’ Vol. IV., 
pages 302 and 307 for further informa¬ 
tion. 
Sabal umbraculifera, Mart ., Jamaica 
Cabbage Palmetto, Palmetto Royal, 
Giant Fan Palm, Big Thatch Palm of 
Jamaica. Some botanists have made 
this species synonymous with the 
former, but it is decidedly distinct from 
the palmetto coming from Bermuda. 
A magnificent palm, very massive and 
noble in appearance. The trunk at¬ 
tains a height of 90 to 100 feet, and ac¬ 
cording to Sir D. Morris, the leaves 
are five to six feet across. “This palm,” 
he continues, “is essentially gregari¬ 
ous ; it is found covering several thou¬ 
sand acres, literally forming extensive 
groves in the Pedro Plains * * * 
They occupy, chiefly, dry, elevated 
banks and dry strips of land between 
numerous lagoons and morasses—the 
haunts of turtles and alligators. Seen 
across one of these lagoons, the ef¬ 
fect produced by a view of this palm 
forest is indescribable. The tall, 
straight, cylindrical columns sur¬ 
mounted by their globular masses of 
fronds, often 25 to 30 feet across, are 
seen to rise out of the sea of green 
sedges and grasses, and as no other 
growths intervene the result—merely 
as a matter of scenery—is well worth 
a visit to the tropics to behold. Un¬ 
der such circumstances even the most 
sceptical would admit that palms are 
rightly named ‘the kingly race of 
plants.’ Riding underneath nothing 
could surpass in grandeur and beauty 
tall stems, canopied by immense fan¬ 
shaped leaves rustling and rattling 
against each other in the refreshing 
breeze.” The very word of these lines 
fits our native Cabbage Palmetto as 
seen in groves in many places of our 
beautiful state, the Jamaica Royal Pal¬ 
metto is much larger in all its parts. 
Of the economic use of this species, 
mention may be made of the leaves, 
which form the only thatching ma¬ 
terial of the houses of the region for 
both negro and European. Mats, ropes, 
hats and baskets are made and the 
hollowed trunks, cut into short 
lengths, make admirable bee-hives and 
are even used as flower pots. 
I have fine specimens of this grand 
palm in my collection, and I have 
found that they are entirely hardy. 
They were raised from seed received 
from Mr. Wm. Fawcett, Director of 
Public Gardens and Plantations, Ja¬ 
maica. Only the following species 
seem to have larger leaves. On my 
young specimens they are 8 to 10 feet 
in diameter. There are quite a num¬ 
ber of fine specimens growing in vari¬ 
ous gardens in Florida. Mr. Theo. L. 
Mead, at Lake Charm, has a magnifi¬ 
cent specimen on his place, fully 30 
feet high, with a very broad and im¬ 
posing leaf-crown. Like all the Cab¬ 
bage palmettoes it is perfectly hardy 
in the orange belt, growing with great 
vigor in rich, moist soil, but when well 
cared for, it also grows finely on high 
pine land. Several palms in my gar- 
