PALMETTO 
649 
In Florida the cabbage, scrub and saw 
palmettoes, and the royal palm are valu¬ 
able as sources of nectar. The cocoanut 
palm is reported to yield a surplus, but 
further observation is desirable. The date 
palm is wind-pollinated and the flowers are 
nectarless; but bees often in large numbers 
gather the pollen. The cabbage palmetto 
Cabbage palmetto. 
(Sabal Palmetto ), so called from the cab¬ 
bage-like terminal bud, which is boiled and 
eaten like a cabbage, is found in the sandy 
coast regions from North Carolina to Flor¬ 
ida, and also occurs in Cuba and the Ba¬ 
hamas. It grows from 20 to 50 feet tall, 
and is abundant along the east and west 
coasts, on the banks of rivers, and in ham¬ 
mocks thruout southern Florida. The 
erect trunk is gray-colored and bears a 
crown of fan-shaped leaves, about 5 feet 
in length and almost equally broad, having 
long footstalks. The flowers have 3 sep¬ 
als, 3 petals, 6 stamens, and a 3-celled 
ovary. It is a picturesque tree and is 
widely planted for ornament. The droop¬ 
ing flower-cluster, which is 3 or more feet 
in length, consists of a central, much 
branched axis, bearing over the ultimate 
smaller branches hundreds of small white, 
stalkless flowers. They exhale a strong fra¬ 
grance, as pronounced as that of apple 
bloom. 
In the extreme southern part of Florida 
the cabbage palmetto begins to bloom about 
the first of July, but in the northern por¬ 
tion of the State not until August. The 
flowers are very sensitive to the weather; 
too much dampness blights, and a hot dry 
atmosphere blasts the bloom. According 
to Baldwin it is on an average a good yield- 
er only one year in three, e. g., 1907, 1909, 
and 1912. In a gopd year it secretes nectar 
very freely, and on the St. Lucie River 65 
colonies gathered 3,500 pounds of extract¬ 
ed honey in two weeks. 
The honey is nearly white, or light am¬ 
ber-colored, and has a characteristic aroma, 
which does not resemble at all that of scrub 
palmetto. It is very thin, and in warm 
weather runs almost like water, and even 
in cold weather it never thickens. The 
flavor is extremely mild, but it is inferior 
to that of scrub palmetto. Gas bubbles 
may frequently be seen under the cappings 
of the sealed cells, and during extracting 
Saw palmetto. 
the honey foams considerably, as tho it was 
fermenting, but after it has stood for a 
few days the bubbles wholly disappear. 
But honey from unsealed cells will ferment 
enough to deprive it of its flavor. In the 
list of Florida honeys it has been ranked 
fifth or sixth. As it is a mild honey it 
