Botany of the Carolinas Coastal Plain, Part 47: The Pair-of-Palmettos Perplexity | Edisto Beach State Park, South Carolina, USA

Taken a little farther down from the Part 46 site, along Cabin Road. This unpaved lane through maritime forest is situated to the northwest of the park's recreational beach complex.

One of the goals of my trip to the Carolinas Coastal Plain was to find and photograph both species of the palm genus Sabal that grow there. I quickly found various excellent examples of S. palmetto, the arborescent Palmetto palm, but it took a lot more effort to discover its diminutive and more reclusive relative, the Dwarf Palmetto, S. minor.

When I came across the handsome trunked and petticoated specimen depicted in the previous post of this set, I had no doubt as to its specific identity. But then, a moment later, I drove up to this little fellow. Could it be a certified Dwarf? Of course it wasn't so little in term of its leaf size, but it certainly lacked a stem.

Alas, no. The tipoff was this plant's palmate leaves, which have long fibers emerging from the spaces between their segments. S. palmetto has this nifty identification trait; S. minor does not. You can see these dangling threads especially well if you magnify the image.

There was also a problem with the dry roadside habitat this plant occupies. As I was later to discover on this journey, the Dwarf Palmetto often likes swampy ground, including standing water. There it can form large trunkless colonies that spread across the soggy forest floor.

So the specimen pictured here actually is a seedling S. palmetto, destined to grow to a considerable height if it survives its infancy. I know that it's one heck of a seedling, but when palms make leaves, even juvenile ones, they don't scrimp on the material.

As implied above, I have portraits of genuine Dwarf Palmettos coming—including some that are in full flower.

The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Botany of the Carolinas Coastal Plain album.

Taken in: United States / South Carolina / Freedman (show map)

Taken on: July 30, 2003

Tags:

botany

nature

plants

dendrology

TREES

South Carolina

Carolinas Coastal Plain

Edisto Beach State Park

Sabal palmetto

Palmetto

palms

Arecaceae

maritime forest « less

Sets appears in: • Arecaceae: The Palms • Botany of the Carolinas Coastal Plain more » • Natural History: South Carolina • Overt Tree Worship • Phytophilia « less

Groups appears in: • Botany • GeoTagging Flickr more » • Geotagged • Eastern North America Nature • Forest & Tree • Field Guide to Trees of the World • nature and landscape photography • Tree appreciation • North American Nature & Wildlife Photography • Plant photography • Tree Photos • American Photography • Nature Photography // • Coastal Carolinas • All U.S. State Parks • Geotagged: South Carolina • Nature Album • Photography with a Story • Nature and all that is beautiful • The Very Great Outdoors • We love Nature and Geology « less

Camera: Sony CD MAVICA, f/2.0, 1/125 sec, 8.1mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony CD MAVICA
Aperture:	f/2.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	8.1mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
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