Sabal bermudana

Sabal bermudana, commonly known as the Bermuda palmetto or bibby-tree, is one of 15 species of palm trees in the genus Sabal and is endemic to Bermuda although reportedly naturalized in the Leeward Islands.[3] It was greatly affected by the introduction of non-native plants such as the Chinese fan palm, which created competition for space that it usually lost.[4]

Sabal bermudana
Individual in a Spanish botanical garden
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Sabal
Species:
S. bermudana
Binomial name
Sabal bermudana
Synonyms[2]
  • Inodes princeps (Becc.) Cif. & Giacom.
  • Sabal beccariana L.H.Bailey
  • Sabal princeps Becc.

Description

Sabal bermudana grows up to 25 m (82 ft) in height, with the occasional old tree growing up to 30 m (100 ft) in height, with a trunk up to 55 cm (22 in) in diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. Each leaf is 1.5–2 m (4.9–6.6 ft) long, with 45-60 leaflets up to 75 cm (30 in) long. The flowers are yellowish-white, 5 mm (0.20 in) across, produced in large panicles up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit is a deep brown to black drupe about 1 cm (0.4 in) long containing a single seed. It is extremely salt-tolerant and is often seen growing near the Atlantic Ocean coast in Bermuda, and also frost-tolerant, surviving short periods of temperatures as low as -14 °C, although no such temperatures have ever occurred in Bermuda.[5]

Uses

Bermudians used to use, for a short period, the leaflets of the palm to weave into hats and export them to the United Kingdom and other countries. Sabal bermudana also had holes drilled into its trunk and sap extracted to make "bibby", a strong alcoholic beverage.

During the 17th century, most houses in Bermuda had palmetto-thatched roofs.

References
  1. Copeland, A.; Roberts, A. (2016). "Sabal bermudana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T38691A101378743. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T38691A101378743.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. The Plant List Sabal bermudana
  3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Sabal bermudana
  4. Bermuda Department of Conservation Services, Bermuda Palmetto Page. Archived 2010-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Bailey, Liberty Hyde. 1934. Gentes Herbarum; Occasional Papers on the Kinds of Plants 3: 326, Sabal bermudana
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