Saw Palmetto
Serenoa repens
The backbone shrub of the Southeastern pine flatwoods and scrub — low, sprawling clumps of fan-shaped fronds (green or a striking silver-blue) on creeping woody stems, with saw-toothed leaf stalks. Slow but nearly indestructible: fire-, drought-, and salt-proof. Its fragrant spring flowers are a premier nectar source (palmetto honey), and the black berries feed bears, birds, and more.
- Family
- Arecaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 7–7 ft
- Spacing
- 4–10 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- March, April, May, June, July
- Bloom colors
- white
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, mammals, songbirds
- Landscape uses
- border, naturalizing, rain garden
- Native states
- AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, SC