Sabal etonia

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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 dispersal

Seed bank and germination

Fire ecology

Pollination

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Sabal etonia at Archbold Biological Station (Deyrup 2015):

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

Diseases and parasites

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.

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]]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. 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.