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Definition |
A small hardy fan palm, endemic to coastal plains from South Carolina to southeastern Louisiana including the Florida peninsula, whose stem usually remains below ground or runs just along the surface. In some cases, it develops an erect or arching trunk that may lift the whorl of leaves 2-8 ft (0.6-2.4 m) above ground. The palmate leaves are 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) across and green or bluish green. The cluster of leaves gets about 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m) high with a similar spread. In the wild, saw palmetto often grows in clumps 20 ft (6 m) or more in diameter. Drugs extracted from its berries have been used to treat, prostrate swelling, bladder infections and urinary tract infections.
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