Saw Palmetto

More info for the terms: shrub, tree

saw palmetto


TAXONOMY:
The scientific name for saw palmetto is Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small
(Arecaceae) [10]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or
forms [24].


LIFE FORM:
Tree, Shrub

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status

OTHER STATUS:
NO-ENTRY





DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Serenoa repens
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
Saw palmetto is endemic to peninsular Florida and the coastal plains
from southeastern Louisiana to southern South Carolina [10,19].

More info for the term: forest

Saw palmetto is endemic to peninsular Florida and the coastal plains
from southeastern Louisiana to southern South Carolina [10,19].



Distribution map from USGS:
1977 USDA, Forest Service map provided by Thompson and others [44].

More info for the terms: cover, fire suppression, fireline intensity, flame length, fruit

Saw palmetto is well adapted to fire, making it difficult to control.
It can be held in check using fire, but it remains vigorous and recovers
[40,22]. Very short fire-rotations (1 to 3 years) perpetuate
saw palmetto understories and kill pine seedlings on palmetto-prairies
which might otherwise support well-stocked pine stands [40]. Summer
fires are most effective at removing saw palmetto top-growth [18].

The effects of fire suppression on saw palmetto depends on the plant
communities it occupies. Fire suppression may decrease saw palmetto
cover in scrub communities where other understory hardwoods can overtop
it. In contrast, suppression, long rotations, and light fires cause
Southern pinelands to become overgrown with saw palmetto [7].

Overgrown saw palmetto understories constitute fire hazards, which
promote wildfires that may kill pine seedlings and saplings [8,40].
Tall saw palmetto understories also carry wildfires into the overstory,
killing mature trees [33,36]. Saw palmetto is the largest contributor
to understory fuels in the Florida pinelands [36].

Consult Ward [42] to predict particulate matter emmision rates from
fireline intensity and flame length for prescribed fires in the
saw palmetto-gallberry type. Saw palmetto foliage yields 2,150,000
calories per pound (4,800 dcCal/g) and is 34 percent ash [21].

To maintain fruit production for white-tailed deer, Fults [13]
recommends burning saw palmetto understories every 3 to 5 years.

More info for the terms: shrub, tree

Tree, Shrub

More info for the terms: competition, cover, forbs, forest, fuel

Saw palmetto is a pest and fire hazard in Southern timber stands. It
contributes large amounts of combustible fuel to forest understories and
competes with pines (Pinus spp.) for moisture, nutrients, and space
[3,21].

Silvicultural and range management objectives often call for
saw palmetto control. Centuries of open range, abusive burning, and
excessive grazing have converted many flatwood-bluestem (Andropogon
spp.) ranges into flatwood-saw palmetto ranges [18]. Saw palmetto
control releases palatable grasses and forbs for livestock and deer, and
reduces competition with conifers [13]. Mist-blower applications of the
herbicide 2,4,5-T provide effective control [19,23], especially when
used in conjunction with prescribed burning [3] or other defoliation
treatments [23]. Following defoliation by fire or mechanical treatment,
saw palmetto should be sprayed when new shoots appear (approximately 6
months later) [38].

Saw palmetto does not regenerate well following mechanical removal [5].
Mechanical disturbance which dislodges, uproots, and cuts saw palmetto
stems and rhizomes provides effective control [19]. Roller-drum
choppers pulled in tandem at offset angles [13] or perpendicular to each
other [28] may reduce saw palmetto cover by 90 percent 2 years after
treatment [13]. Chop-rest-chop rotations provide continued range
maintenance [18].

When wildlife or cover management goals require saw palmetto
enhancement, use rock phosphate fertilizer [28] or site drainage [40] to
increase cover.

More info on this topic.

Saw palmetto blooms between April and July [10,19,32]. Maximum spadix
initiation begins after the danger of frost is past and may be
stimulated by rising temperatures. The fruits ripen in September and
October. Maximum saw palmetto growth occurs during the summer rainy
season, achieving 80 percent of annual production between April and
October [8,14,32].

More info for the terms: caudex, root crown

survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
survivor species; on-site surviving rhizomes

The scientific name for saw palmetto is Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small
(Arecaceae) [10]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or
forms [24].