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| ## dwarf palmetto {#dwarf-palmetto .Title-Header}                     |
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| *Sabal minor* (Jacq.) Pers.                                           |
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| Plant Symbol = SAMI8                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & the Biota of
North America Program

### ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6979166666666665in" height="2.3965277777777776in"}

### Alternate Names

Bluestem, scrub palmetto, bush palmetto.

### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*:

The Houma used juice crushed from the small roots as an eye medicine to
relieve irritation. Dried roots were taken for high blood pressure. A
tea from the dried roots was taken for kidney ailments and as a
stimulant for "swimming in the head." The fresh roots were baked and
served as "palmetto bread." The small fruits, sometimes called "famine
food" were also eaten. The Seminoles, Houma, Choctaw, and other Native
American tribes used the leaves of dwarf palmetto much in the same way
that they used the leaves of the related tree, cabbage palmetto (*Sabal
palmetto*). The fan-shaped leaves were used to thatch homes. Immature
blades from the leaves were prepared by sun-bleaching and then braided
into thin strips for use as lashings or sewn together to make baskets
and other useful articles. Leaves were used to make fans that were
carried during certain dances. Coiled-grass baskets tied with palmetto
were made by the Houma as late as the 1930s. These unique baskets were
made only in Louisiana and Tierra del Fuego. Contemporary people use the
palmetto leaves to weave baskets and make small dolls with hair of
Spanish moss.

*Wildlife*: The fruits are an important food for robins and raccoons,
providing from 10% to 20% of their diet. Fish crows, mockingbirds,
myrtle warblers, pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers, and gray
squirrels also eat the fruits.

*Livestock*: This plant is reported to be frequently grazed by cattle,
more so than any other palm.

### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

### Description

*General*: This shrub-like palm generally reaches a height of only 0.5
to 2 m. The stem is usually not visible, being either buried or very
short, although it has been reported to occasionally reach 8m tall in
Louisiana and Texas. The circular, fan-like leaves are composed of 16 to
40 pale- or blue-green blades that are 15dm wide. These stiff, nearly
flat blades do not have a prominent midrib. The white flower petals are
2 to 3 mm long. The small fruits (6-8mm in diameter) are glossy black in
color and enclose a large seed (5-6mm). The fruits ripen in the fall.

*Similar species:* Cabbage palmetto (*Sabal palmetto*) is a palm tree
that can reach 20 m in height. Saw palmetto (*Serenoa repens*) often has
a similar appearance as dwarf palmetto as it has a short or horizontal
stem. It grows in the same native range but is less cold hardy.

*Distribution*: Native to the Gulf Coast States and Florida. For current
distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on
the PLANTS Web site.

### Adaptation 

Dwarf palmetto grows along streams, in swampy or rocky hammocks and in
maritime heaths along the coastal plain in the southeastern United
States. It is common to freshwater wetlands and floodplain forests where
it often forms dense thickets. It rarely occurs in upland woodlands.
This is the hardiest of the *Sabal* genus as well as one of the hardiest
of palms.

### Establishment

Dwarf palmetto is simple to grow and can be grown in a wide variety of
soils with medium drainage and fertility in both moist and fairly dry
areas. It has a slow to moderate growth rate.

*Seeds*: May be easily propagated from seed as fresh seed germinates
readily. Transplant in the following year.

#### *Transplanting:* It is best to transplant in June or July. Water frequently until the plant shows growth to ensure proper establishment of the root system.

### Management

Established plants tend to self-sow. Fruit drupes may be removed if
self-sowing is not desired.

### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These plant materials are somewhat available from commercial sources.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

### References

Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey 1976. *Hortus Third: A concise dictionary of
plants cultivated in the United States and Canada*. Simon and Schuster
Macmillan Co., New York, New York. 1290 pp.

Barbour, M.G. & W.D. Billings, Editors 2000. *North American terrestrial
vegetation*, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
708 pp.

Brown, R.C. 1994. *Florida's first people: 12,000 years of human
history*. Pineapple Press, Inc., Sarasota, Florida. 262 pp.

Chapman, A.W. 1883. *Flora of the Southern United States: Flowering
Plants and Ferns*. Second Edition. J. Wilson and Son, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. 698 pp.

Flint, H.L. 1997. *Landscape plants for Eastern North America*. Second
Edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York. 842 pp.

Godfrey, R.K. & J.W. Wooten 1979. *Aquatic and wetland plants of
Southeastern United States*. Vol. 1. University of Georgia Press,
Athens, Georgia. 712 pp.

Halfacre, R.G. & A.R. Showcroft 1979. *Landscape plants of the
Southeast*. Sparks Press, Raleigh, North Carolina. 325 pp.

Kniffen, F.B., H.F. Gregory & G.A. Stokes 1994. *The historic Indian
Tribes of Louisiana*. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. 324 pp.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants: A guide to wildlife food habits*. Dover Publications, New York.
500 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon. 927 pp.

Neill, W.T. 1956. *The story of Florida's Seminole Indians*. Second
Edition. Great Outdoors Publishing Co., St. Petersburg, Florida. 128 pp.

Ottesen, C. 1995. *The native plant primer*. Harmony Books, New York,
New York. 354 pp.

Rogers, D.J. & C. Rogers 1991. *Woody ornamentals for Deep South
gardens*. University of West Florida Press, Pensacola, Florida. 296 pp.

Small, J.K. 1933. *Manual of Southeastern flora*. University of North
Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1554 pp.

Speck, F.G. 1941. *A list of plant curatives obtained from the Houma
Indians of Louisiana*. Primitive Man: Quarterly Bulletin of the Catholic
Anthropological Conference Vol. XIV(4): 49-75.

Sturtevant, W.C. 1954. *The Mikasuki Seminole: medical beliefs and
practices*. Doctoral Dissertation, Yale University. 538 pp.

Tiner, R.W. 1993. *Field guide to coastal wetland plants of the
Southeastern United States*. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst,
Massachusetts. 328 pp.

Whitcomb, C.E. 1983. *Know it and grow it, II: A guide to the
identification and use of landscape plants*. Lacebark Publications,
Stillwater, Oklahoma. 740 pp.

### Prepared By

*Diana L. Immel*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental
Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California

### Species Coordinator

## *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Sciences Department,
University of California, Davis, California

Edited: 21May2001 jsp; 03jun03 ahv; 060816 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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