Difference between revisions of "Sabal etonia"

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===Diseases and parasites===
 
===Diseases and parasites===

Revision as of 11:42, 18 August 2016

Sabal etonia
Sabal eton.jpg
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
Saba eton dist.jpg
Natural range of Sabal etonia from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: scrub palmetto

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

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Sabal etonia at Archbold Biological Station: [8]

Apidae: Apis mellifera, Bombus pennsylvanicus, Epeolus floridensis, Mellisodes communis, Nomada fervida

Colletidae: Colletes distinctus, C. mandibularis, C. sp. A, Hylaeus confluens

Halictidae: Agapostemon splendens, Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis anonyma, A. metallica, Lasioglossum miniatulus, L. nymphalis, L. placidensis, Sphecodes heraclei

Megachilidae: Coelioxys sayi, Megachile albitarsis, M. brevis pseudobrevis, M. mendica, M. texana

Pompilidae: Paracyphonyx funereus

Sphecidae: Cerceris blakei, C. flavofasciata floridensis, Epinysson basilaris, Isodontia exornata, Oxybelus decorosum, Stictiella serrata

Vespidae: Euodynerus boscii boharti, Leptochilus alcolhuus, Mischocyttarus cubensis, Monobia quadridens, Pachodynerus erynnis, Parancistrocerus bicornis, P. salcularis rufulus, Stenodynerus beameri, S. oculeus

Use by animals

Fruits are eaten by birds.[1]

Diseases and parasites

Individuals are susceptible to scale, mites and leaf skeletonizers[9].

Conservation and management

Cultivation and restoration

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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 [[1]]University of Florida Extension. Accessed: March 10, 2016
  2. 2.0 2.1 [[2]]Floridata. Accessed: March 15, 2016
  3. [[3]]Regional Conservation. Accessed: March 15, 2016
  4. 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. 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.
  6. Abrahamson, W. G. (1999). "Episodic Reproduction in Two Fire-Prone Palms, Serenoa repens and Sabal etonia (Palmae)." Ecology 80(1): 100-115.
  7. [[4]]Palmpedia. Accessed: March 16, 2016
  8. Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.
  9. [[5]]Missouri Botanical Gardens. Accessed: March 18, 2016