SoutheasternSoutheastern PalmsPalms Volume 20-1 1 www.sepalms.org Visit SPS on Facebook Southeastern Palms, formerly titled Rhapidophyllum, is the journal of the Southeastern Palm Society. The Society, founded in 1992, is the southeastern United States (north-of-Florida) chapter of the renowned International Palm Society. Members are devoted to growing hardy palms and other subtropical plants. Editor and Tom McClendon, St. Marys, Georgia article submissions [email protected] Design and layout Jeff Stevens, Apison, Tennessee Production liaison Phil Bennion, Marietta, Georgia Mailing and Johnny Cochran, Douglasville, Georgia missing issues [email protected] Address changes, membership and Will Taylor, Athens, Tennessee payment questions [email protected] Online membership renewal and bookstore www.sepalms.org Southeastern Palms Will Roberds: 1992–1997 editors emeritus: Alan Bills: 1997–2000 Jeff Stevens: 2001–2008 Front Cover: A grouping of Roystonea regia. See Paul Craft’s article Those Other Southeastern Native Palms on page 4. Photo: Paul Craft. 2 Contents Volume 20-1 August 2012 4 Those Other Southeastern Native Palms Acoelorrhaphe wrightii Coccothrinax argentata Leucothrinax morrisii Pseudophoenix sargentii Roystonea regia Sabal etonia Thrinax radiata by Paul Craft 16 Natural Variation in Sabal palmetto –Variegated Sabal palmetto –Juvenile Sabal palmetto by Kyle Brown 2012 is the Southeastern Palm Society’s 20th Anniversary! Note: This issue has been modified from the print version to correct Figures 4 and 5 on pages 21 and 22. 3 ThoseThose OtherOther SoutheasternSoutheastern NativeNative PalmsPalms Article and photos by Paul Craft Loxahatchee, Florida 4 Figure 1. An old Acoelorrhaphe wrightii at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California 5 hen the subject arises about palms native to the W southeastern United States, those species native to northern Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana are discussed. But what about those species that grow way down in South Florida and the Florida Keys! That area is part of the Southeast as well, even though quite different in climate and soils. There are 11 native palms in this part of the world. Those palms people mostly think of being in the Southeast are Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Sabal palmetto, Sabal minor and Serenoa repens. There is a large separation from these species to the species that can be found in the lower half of Florida: Acoelorrhaphe wrightii Coccothrinax argentata Leucothrinax morrisii Pseudophoenix sargentii Roystonea regia Sabal etonia, and Thrinax radiata. A twelfth species, Sabal miamiensis, is considered extinct and may or may not be in cultivation. It is closely aligned with Sabal etonia and some taxonomists consider it just a southern form of Sabal etonia. Its limited habitat in Dade County was completely destroyed by urbanization. While the far-south natives will not tolerate the seasonal cold of northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, they are well worth using in South Florida and have found more acceptance in recent years with nurseries making them available to the homeowner. With many landscaping requirements calling for a large percentage of native plants, these palms have found their way into many government plantings where people have learned about them and now ask for their use in their own landscapes. Being 6 Figure 2. Coccothrinax argentata growing in a Florida Keys landscape. 7 Figure 3. A hybrid between Coccothrinax argentata and Leucothrinax morrisii at Pine Key, Florida 8 natives, their needs are simple and their resistance to bugs and disease is high. Sabal palmetto and Serenoa repens grow widely in South Florida as well and are heavily used in landscapes. Rhapidophyllum hystrix and Sabal minor are more collector palms, even though they do quite well in gardens to the north. So without further ado, here is a little information about those other Southeastern native palms! Acoelorrhaphe wrightii is also called the paurotis palm or Everglades palm (Figure 1). It is native to far southwest Florida in the Everglades as well as parts of the Caribbean and Central America. Being a water lover, its main requirement in any landscape is adequate regular watering. It has often been used wrongly in public plantings, particularly in roadway medians or on high overpasses with no irrigation. Those plants languish and eventually die in most cases. Of all the South Florida natives, the paurotis palm is the most poorly understood and often passed over because people have seen it planted in situations doing poorly and think it is not an attractive plant they would want to use. Given regular water, it makes an idea specimen palm or screening plant in the landscape. Young suckers can be removed to give a more airy feeling and definition to the main stems, or left on to create a solid wall of foliage. Coccothrinax argentata, also called silver thatch palm, is found in the Florida Keys up into mainland Florida as far north as Palm Beach County (Figures 2 and 3). Its range extends into the Bahamas and depending on whose taxonomic treatment one wants to go by given the various splitting and lumping of species, is found in other parts of the Caribbean as well as the coastal Cayes of Central America. Its attractive dark green leaves with silver backsides make it stand out in a landscape, especially when used in odd numbered groupings of staggered heights. It is the slowest grower of the South Florida natives, often reaching 9 Figure 4. Leucothrinax morrisii in a Florida Keys landscape 10 maturity at less than three feet tall. That is the main reason it is not used as much as other natives, but is an ideal candidate for small landscapes and tolerates drought and salt extremely well. Leucothrinax morrisii was previously known as Thrinax morrisii, but after DNA analysis was found to be distinctive enough to gain its own unique monotypic genus (Figures 3 and 4). The Key thatch palm’s native habitat is the middle to lower Florida Keys and it can be found elsewhere in the Caribbean. It occurs with Coccothrinax argentata on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys where the two palms hybridize at times. With its medium green leaves that are lightly silver underneath, this is another palm that is ideal for small landscapes. It is also quite drought tolerant and tolerates salt wind quite well. Pseudophoenix sargentii is commonly known as the buccaneer or cherry palm (Figure 5). It is another Florida Keys native and occurs elsewhere in the Caribbean and Mexico. A form from Navassa Island, off the coast of Haiti, grows much faster than our native form and has a thinner trunk. Because of its faster growth, it is being grown more than the native form in South Florida nurseries. The native form was nearly wiped out in the Florida Keys due to people digging them back in the early days for their ornamental purposes. It grows slowly, but is a handsome addition to a landscape situation that is well drained. It is also very drought tolerant and prefers alkaline soils. Roystonea regia, or royal palm, was once reported to have grown as far north as Tampa, but has since been known to be native only to southern mainland Florida (Figure 6 and front cover). Its range was undoubtedly reduced by freezes in central Florida ages ago. The royal palm also grows in parts of the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. At one time the Florida form was named Roystonea elata, but that name was lumped with Roystonea regia as the differences between the two species were negligible. It is widely used in South Florida lining streets and shopping mall parking lots. Its best use is as a solitary specimen 11 Figure 5. A young Pseudophoenix sargentii in a Florida Keys landscape. Figure 6. A grouping of Roystonea regia. (See also the front cover.) 12 Figure 7. A comparison of Sabal etonia on the left and Sabal minor on the right. but when used in groupings reveals its true majesty. Sabal etonia, commonly known as scrub palmetto, is endemic to the areas known as the Central Florida Ridge and the Atlantic Coastal Ridge of Florida (Figure 7). Large numbers can be found in the Ocala National Forest. A trunkless species like Sabal minor, it can be easily distinguished from the latter by its strongly costapalmate leaves that are V-shaped. Sabal minor has only a very small costa making the leaves appear broadly palmate. The inflorescence of Sabal minor extends straight up and out beyond the leaves, while in Sabal etonia it is short and hangs to the ground in amongst the foliage. This is the one palm species that bridges the gap between those from South Florida and the species prevalent in North Florida and beyond. It does well in North Florida and may well be another that has long been treated as a Southeastern native, but is only actually native to central and north-central Florida, so is included here. It would be used in landscapes much the same way as Sabal minor. Thrinax radiata, or thatch palm, is another of the Florida Keys natives that extends up into southern Dade County (Figure 8). It is also common in the Greater Antilles. It is being used more and more in landscapes in South Florida, particularly those that require 13 a percentage of native plants. It is an ideal palm for smaller yards much in the same way as Coccothrinax argentata and Leucothrinax morrisii. All look fantastic in odd-numbered groupings or as a solitary specimen with contrasting foliage behind or above them. Of the three species, Thrinax radiata is being grown and used the most. It is no longer just a collector’s palm. Thus ends a very brief synopsis of the forgotten palms that are part of the southeastern United States.