Sabal bermudana
Encyclopedia
Sabal bermudana, commonly known as the Bermuda Palmetto or Bibby-treehttp://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=%22bibby+tree%22#q=%22bibby+tree%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=bks:1&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wp&fp=ab01e6141b7b64f0, is one of 15 species of palm trees
in the genus Sabal
and is endemic to Bermuda
. It was greatly affected by the introduction of non-native plants such as the Chinese Fan-Palm
, which created competition for space that it usually lost.
), with the leaves with a bare petiole
terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflet
s. Each leaf
is 1.5–2 m (4.9–6.6 ft) long, with 45-60 leaflets up to 75 cm (29.5 in) long. The flower
s are yellowish-white, 5 mm (0.196850393700787 in) across, produced in large panicle
s up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit
is a deep brown to black drupe
about 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in) long containing a single seed
. It is extremely salt-tolerant
and is often seen growing near the Atlantic Ocean
coast in Bermuda, and also frost-tolerant
, surviving short periods of temperatures as low as -14 °C, although it will never get that cold in Bermuda.
and other countries. Sabal bermudana also had hole drilled into its trunk and sap
extracted to make "bibby", a strong alcoholic beverage
.
During the 17th century, most houses in Bermuda
had palmetto-thatched
roofs.
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
in the genus Sabal
Sabal
Sabal is a genus of New World palms, many of the species being known as palmetto. They are fan palms , with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets; in some of the species, the leaflets are joined for up to half of their length...
and is endemic to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. It was greatly affected by the introduction of non-native plants such as the Chinese Fan-Palm
Livistona
Livistona is a genus of 36 species of palms , native to southern and southeastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa...
, which created competition for space that it usually lost.
Description
Sabal bermudana grows up to 25 m (82 ft) in height, with the occasional old tree growing up to 30 m (98.4 ft) in height, with a trunk up to 55 cm (21.7 in) in diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe CorypheaeCorypheae
Corypheae is a tribe of palm trees in the subfamily Coryphoideae. The extinct palm Palaeoraphe is placed into the subtribe Livistoninae....
), with the leaves with a bare petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s. Each leaf
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
is 1.5–2 m (4.9–6.6 ft) long, with 45-60 leaflets up to 75 cm (29.5 in) long. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are yellowish-white, 5 mm (0.196850393700787 in) across, produced in large panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a deep brown to black drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
about 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in) long containing a single seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
. It is extremely salt-tolerant
Halophyte
A halophyte is a plant that grows where it is affected by salinity in the root area or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora . Relatively few plant species are...
and is often seen growing near the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast in Bermuda, and also frost-tolerant
Hardy palms
Hardy palms are any of the species of palm that are able to withstand colder temperatures and thrive in places not typically considered in the natural range for palms. Several are native to higher elevations in Asia and can tolerate hard freezes with little or no damage...
, surviving short periods of temperatures as low as -14 °C, although it will never get that cold in Bermuda.
Uses
Bermudians used to use, for a short period, the leaflets of the palm to weave into hats and export them to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and other countries. Sabal bermudana also had hole drilled into its trunk and sap
Sap
Sap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* Sap , a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia...
extracted to make "bibby", a strong alcoholic beverage
Palm wine
Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
.
During the 17th century, most houses in Bermuda
Architecture of Bermuda
The architecture of Bermuda has developed over the past four centuries. The archipelago's isolation, environment and scarce resources have been key driving points, though inspiration from Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas is evident...
had palmetto-thatched
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
roofs.