Sabal miamiensis, the Miami palmetto, is a rare plant species endemic to Dade County, Florida, in the vicinity of the city of Miami.

Taxonomy

The formal description of this as a new species was published in 1985, based largely on specimens collected in 1901.[2][3][4] Sabal miamiensis is closely related to S. etonia, of which it is sometimes considered a synonym, or a hybrid of S. etonia and S. palmetto.

Conservation

Only one population is known; it consists of a few individuals in Crandon Park, Miami, Florida. It is seriously threatened and may possibly already be extinct in the wild, although it is still in cultivation as an ornamental.[5] It has been collected in nature only from rocky pinelands in the region, areas which ae now rapidly becoming urbanized.

Description

Sabal miamiensis resembles S. etonia but has larger fruits (15–19 mm (0.59–0.75 in) in diameter) and an inflorescences with 3 orders of branching instead of 2. Stems are primarily subterranean, leaves no more than 6 per plant, each yellow-green and up to 85 cm (33.5 in) long. Flowers are creamy white, each 5-5.5 mm long. Fruits are black and fleshy.[6][7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0. Sabal miamiensis". explorer.natureserve.org.
  2. ^ Flora of North America v 22 p 109
  3. ^ Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Extinct Plants Index
  4. ^ Fairchild Botanical Garden, Fairchild Guide to Palms, herbarium sheet 53867, Sabal miamensis
  5. ^ Palmpedia, Floribunda Palms and Exotics
  6. ^ Zona, S. 1985. A new species of Sabal (Palmae) from Florida. Brittonia 37(4): 366–368.
  7. ^ Henderson, A., G. A. Galeano & R. Bernal. 1995. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas 1–352. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
  8. ^ Zona, S. 1990. A monograph of Sabal (Arecaceae: Coryphoideae). Aliso 12: 583--666.
  9. ^ Fox. D.A., & M.G. Andreu. 2012. Sorting out the Florida Sabal Palms. University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, FOR 289