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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI14090860/00001
Notes
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Palmetto 1
Length of Segment: 00:01:16
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Mention saw palmetto in late summer and you might get negative responses ranging from “That unfriendly thicket?” to “How can I control it?” to “How can I keep those berry pickers off my land?” You might also hear a diversity of positive responses: “Great habitat and food for wildlife”, “A miracle drug”, “A beautiful landscape plant”, or maybe “Florida's next great industry”. It may seem hard to believe that one plant could illicit such a diversity of feelings. What is saw palmetto? Saw palmetto is a native palm that ranges from South Carolina to Florida and west to Louisiana. It is nowhere more abundant than it is in Florida's fire-dominated pine forests. Saw palmetto differs from other palms in that its trunk typically sprawls across the ground and only rarely reaches upwards to a height of six to twelve feet. The name 'saw palmetto' comes from the sawtooth-like rows of spines that fringe each saw palmetto frond. Throughout Florida, the spiny-stemmed evergreen fronds of saw palmetto are easy to recognize and an important component of natural ecosystems. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Palmetto 2
Length of Segment: 00:01:16
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Saw palmetto fruit appears abundant in areas where it has been at least four years since the last fire and some studies suggest fire intervals of eight to ten years may result in the greatest fruit production. Such long intervals without fire are inconsistent with our knowledge of the frequency of natural lightning-started fires in much of peninsular Florida. Prior to road construction and fire control efforts, Florida's pine forests burned at about one to three year intervals. In the absence of fire, Florida's pines are shaded out by competing hardwoods, and a factor leading to the endangerment of the red-cockaded woodpecker has been lack of fire to maintain the openness of the pine woods. In other species, we sometimes see that individuals under stress maximize energy put into reproducing, sort of one last effort to leave offspring for the future. If lack of fire is resulting in increased competition and shade, perhaps this triggers fruit production in an effort to promote spread of seeds to other areas. Those managing for the production of saw palmetto fruit should look to nature for clues to needs for long-term stability of fruit production and for greater understanding of the roles of saw palmetto in its natural ecosystem. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Palmetto 3
Length of Segment: 00:01:17
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Saw palmetto is a valuable and often used landscape plant in Florida. Because it is native, it is tolerant of our sandy soils, periodic drought conditions, and salt spray. It also does well in either full sun or partial shade and is tolerant enough of cold that it occurs abundantly throughout the state. Although it is hearty, saw palmetto is hard to transplant and for landscaping, it's best to purchase nursery plants grown from seed. In the spring, saw palmetto produces two foot long clusters of fragrant, creamy, velvety flowers from the growing tip at the base of fronds. Under natural conditions, flowers often appear just after a fire on saw palmettos that otherwise appear to have been destroyed, testament to the toughness and resilience of the plant and to the fact that much of its trunk is underground and thus protected from fire. This underground stem often branches, sending up new stems that result in the dense thickets that often characterize saw palmetto. Saw palmetto stems also run along the surface of the ground, making mowing difficult and relegating this plant to borders and areas where a vegetative screen is desired. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Palmetto 4
Length of Segment: 00:01:14
Hi, I’m Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Although shrub-like in appearance, saw palmetto is long-lived and slow growing, providing a stable habitat for many kinds of wildlife. The clusters of creamy white flowers are especially attractive to bees and important for the production of high quality honey. Early settlers disliked saw palmetto because its dense thickets sheltered eastern diamondback rattlesnakes. They still do, but these rattlesnakes usually stay hidden within the palmetto or retreat to a safer thicket as humans approach. Wild turkeys often nest in pine flatwoods where there is a dense saw palmetto understory and young gopher tortoises find shelter in the saw palmetto's fronds. By fall, clusters of olive-sized, purple-black fruits have replaced the saw palmetto's flowers, and the plant takes on new value. The fruits are important seasonal food for wild turkeys, fish crows, red-bellied woodpeckers, dozens of other birds and mammals, and gopher tortoises. Black bears are especially fond of saw palmetto fruit and bears and raccoons may shift home ranges seasonally to take advantage of its local abundance. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Palmetto 5
Length of Segment: 00:01:16
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Beginning in August, one can often find cars parked along roadsides left by individuals carrying sacks into saw palmetto thickets. They're harvesting saw palmetto berries for medicines and herbal products. Native Americans believed in the medicinal value of saw palmetto and Europeans have long used saw palmetto products. Today, we know that compounds from saw palmetto fruits can shrink non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland. These and other potential uses for saw palmetto led to development of a multi-million dollar industry centered in South Florida. The saw palmetto berry harvests may now be close to a million tons each year. Berries are picked on both public and private land, and some pickers have reported earning as much as $400 per day. As prices have gone up, so have trespassing and concern for the impact of harvesting on natural ecosystems. The saw palmetto is not endangered; indeed, with newfound importance, there are fewer efforts to eliminate it. But creatures like black bears, white-tailed deer, gray foxes, and dozens of other animals that naturally depend on saw palmetto fruit could be jeopardized by significant seasonal losses to their food supply. ( English )
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- Resource Identifier:
- FI00900193
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