FNPS Plant Database

Sabal minor

dwarf palmetto, blue-stem palmetto
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

dwarf palmetto, blue-stem palmetto

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Sabal minor

Family:

Arecaceae (Palmae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

palm

Size:

4-9 ft tall by 4-8 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white,NA

Fruit Color:

brown,black

Phenology:

evergreen

Noted For:

Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Use as a small specimen shrub in moist areas. Can also be used in floodplains.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Seeds.

Light:

Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Short very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Birds, Mammals

Pollinated by bees.

Used by birds for nesting and food. A wide variety of animals eat the fruit.

Native Habitats:

Shallowly inundated floodplain forest, shallow set sinks, hydric seep slopes and immediately adjacent mesic slopes, hydric hammock, moist mesic hammock adjacent to streams.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Citations:

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp518 http://www.salinitymanagement.org/Salinity Management Guide/cp/cp_7_table-3.html



Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Huegel, Craig, N.  2010.  Native plant landscaping for Florida wildlife.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. (wildlife uses)



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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