Sabal etonia
| Sabal etonia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Photo by Shirley Denton (Copyrighted, use by photographer’s permission only), Nature Photography by Shirley Denton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae ⁄ Palmae |
| Genus: | Sabal |
| Species: | S. etonia |
| Binomial name | |
| Sabal etonia Swingle ex Nash | |
| |
| Natural range of Sabal etonia from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
Common names: Scrub palmetto, Dwarf palmetto
Contents
Taxonomic notes
Description
A description of Sabal etonia is provided in The Flora of North America.
S. etonia has a subterranean stem that is S-shaped or contorted, with the crown bud held below the soil surface.[1] This species resembles Serenoa repens, however, S. repens has a true palmate leaf with no midrib and sawlike teeth along the edges of the petiole.[2]
Distribution
S. etonia only occurs naturally in the well drained sandy ridges in peninsular Florida.[2] It is distributed in Florida from Clay county south to Lake Okeechobee and then along the east coast south to Miami-Dade county.[3]
Ecology
Habitat
In the Coastal Plain in Florida, Sabal etonia occurs in sand pine/oak scrubs.[4]
Associated species include Pinus clausa, Ceratiola ericoides, and Quercus ilicifolia. Grows in well-drained sandy soils and entisols.[5]
Phenology
Flowers in spring. Fruits are shiny black berries.[1]
Seed bank and germination
This species is extremely long lived and experiences limited recruitment of slow-growing seedlings. Both seedlings and adults can persist in drought and wildfire. Seedlings display a type 2 survivorship with constant mortality rates.[5]
Fire ecology
S. etonia displays strong postfire flowering responses, this is typical of many monocots.[6] It is very tolerant to fire.[7]
Pollination and use by animals
Sabal etonia was observed at the Archbold Biological Station to be visited by bees from the family Apidae such as Apis mellifera, Bombus pennsylvanicus, Epeolus floridensis, Mellisodes communis and Nomada fervida, plasterer bees from the family Colletidae such as Colletes distinctus, C. mandibularis, and Hylaeus confluens, sweat bees from the family Halictidae such as Agapostemon splendens, Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis anonyma, A. metallica, Lasioglossum miniatulus, L. nymphalis, L. placidensis and Sphecodes heraclei, leafcutting bees from the family Megachilidae such as Coelioxys sayi, Megachile albitarsis, M. brevis pseudobrevis, M. mendica and M. texana, spider wasps from the family Pompilidae such as Paracyphonyx funereus, thread-waisted wasps from the family Sphecidae such as Cerceris blakei, C. flavofasciata floridensis, Epinysson basilaris, Isodontia exornata, Oxybelus decorosum and Stictiella serrata, and wasps from the family Vespidae such as Euodynerus boscii boharti, Leptochilus alcolhuus, Mischocyttarus cubensis, Monobia quadridens, Pachodynerus erynnis, Parancistrocerus bicornis, P. salcularis rufulus, Stenodynerus beameri and S. oculeus.[8]
The fruits of Sabal etonia are eaten by birds.[1]
Diseases and parasites
Individuals are susceptible to scale, mites and leaf skeletonizers.[9]
Conservation, cultivation, and restoration
Cultural use
Photo Gallery
References and notes
Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: November 2015. Collectors: K.M. Meyer, A. Townesmith. States and Counties: Florida: Putnam. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 [[1]]University of Florida Extension. Accessed: March 10, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 [[2]]Floridata. Accessed: March 15, 2016
- ↑ [[3]]Regional Conservation. Accessed: March 15, 2016
- ↑ Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: November 2015. Collectors: K.M. Meyer, A. Townesmith. States and Counties: Florida: Putnam. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Abrahamson, W. G. and C. R. Abrahamson (2009). "Life in the Slow Lane: Palmetto Seedlings Exhibit Remarkable Survival but Slow Growth in Florida's Nutrient-Poor Uplands." Castanea 74(2): 123-132.
- ↑ Abrahamson, W. G. (1999). "Episodic Reproduction in Two Fire-Prone Palms, Serenoa repens and Sabal etonia (Palmae)." Ecology 80(1): 100-115.
- ↑ [[4]]Palmpedia. Accessed: March 16, 2016
- ↑ Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.
- ↑ [[5]]Missouri Botanical Gardens. Accessed: March 18, 2016
