Serenoa repens
Saw Palmetto
- Family: Arecaceae
- Form: Recumbent, branched, clumping palm, rarely erect to eight feet tall
- Leaves: Palmate, induplicate, up to 3 ft. wide, deeply divided into 25-35 stiff leaflets, 1-1½ in. wide, tapering segments with cleft tips; color green to bluish silver; long petioles armed with small saw teeth!
- Stem/Bark: Trunks creeping horizontally to erect, branching, covered with old bases and brown fiber
- Flower: Whitish, small, born on 2-3 ft. long branched pedicels
- Fruit: Drupe, elliptical, yellow turning blue black at maturity, one inch long
- Comments: One of eleven native palms in Florida, Serenoa repens is easily distinguished from others by its recumbent trunk and branching habit of growth. Various selections are available from green to silver-blue appearance
