Ave.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
April,  1879.  j 
The  Saw  Palmetto. 
169 
THE  SAW  PALMETTO  (Sabal  serrulata1). 
-v^      By  Dr.  J.  B.  Read,  Savannah,  Georgia. 
Botanical  Description — Stem  creeping,  branching ;  leaves  circular  in 
outline,  fan-shaped,  bright  green,  shorter  than  the  slender  plano-convex, 
more  or  less  spiney-edged,  petiole.  The  numerous  (15  to  30)  erect 
divisions  slightly  cleft  at  the  apex,  and  without  thread-like  filaments  in 
the  sinuses  ;  spadix  densely  tomentose,  much  shorter  than  the  leaves  •, 
petals  scarcely  united  ;  style  slender  ;  drupe  ovoid,  oblong  (S.  minima, 
Nuttall,  Chamarops,  Pursh.).  Sandy  soil  in  the  lower  districts  of 
Florida  and  South  Carolina.  June.  Stem  40  to  8°  long;  leaves  2°  to 
40  high  ,  drupe  black,  8"  to  9"  long. — Chapman. 
History. — This  plant  grows  abundantly  in  the  sandy  soils  of  the  sea 
coast  and  sea  islands  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Floiida,  and  may, 
perhaps,  extend  into  Alabama,  Louisiana  and  Texas.  The  belt  of 
territory  inhabited  by  it  stretches  inland  from  the  coast  eight  or  ten 
miles.  The  nearer  the  sea,  the  more  vigorous  the  luxuriance  of  its 
growth.  Like  most  crops,  its  fruit  is  more  abundant  in  alternate  years. 
It  is  the  common  plant  of  the  section  of  the  country  in  which  it  grows, 
forming  palmetto  scrubs  which  extend  in  unbroken  range  for  hundreds 
•of  miles,  and  are,  from  their  density  and  the  saw  like  edges  of  the 
leaves,  almost  impassable  to  human  beings.  The  beach,  extending 
from  Mosquito  Inlet  in  Florida  to  Jupiter  Inlet,  is  one  vast  scrub,  over 
100  miles  long  and  from  one  to  three  mil^s  w?ide,  broken  only  by  live 
oak  hammocks  along  the  creeks  and  inlets.  The  cutting  of  roads 
through  these  palmetto  scrubs  is  not  one  of  the  least  of  the  labors  new 
settlers  have  to  undergo. 
In  addition  to  the  description  of  the  plant  above  given,  we  may  add 
that  it  has  large  fibrous  roots  extending  for  several  feet  from  the  stem, 
which,  being  half  exposed  above  the  sand,  render  traveling  in  spring 
vehicles  almost  an  impossibility. 
The  saw  palmetto  is  of  great  use  to  the  inhabitants.  With  the 
leaves  they  form  a  substantial  thatch  for  their  houses,  and  hunters  can 
readily  make  from  it  convenient  huts  that  last  for  years.  The  leaves 
are  also  collected,  dried,  put  up  in  bales  and  sold  for  paper  stock.  The 
fough,  fibrous  roots,  resembling  in  texture  the  husk  of  the  cocoanut, 
are  easily  formed  into  scrubbing  brushes.     These  roots  contain  a  large 
1  Sabal  levistona  ?  Feay. 
