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

Miami palmetto

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Sabal
Species:
S. miamiensis
Binomial name
Sabal miamiensis
Zona

Taxonomy

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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

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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

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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

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  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, Scott (1985). "A New Species of Sabal (Palmae) from Florida". Brittonia. 37 (4): 366–368. Bibcode:1985Britt..37..366Z. doi:10.2307/2806549. JSTOR 2806549.
  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