Last updated: March 26, 2024
Place
nightingale trail - Stop 1 - cabbage palmetto
NPS photo
Cabbage Palm “Sabal palmetto”
Cabbage Palm can be found to the left of the marker. The large leaves have leaflets arching from a triangular midrib. This tall tree will produce a cluster of small dark black berries which are readily eaten by raccoon, squirrel, robin, mockingbirds and turkey. The terminal bud is often harvested and served as heart of palm, some say with a slight taste of cabbage. Collecting the terminal bud does kill the tree.
A straight, slender tree with gray smooth bark about 35 feet behind you is a Laurel Oak “Quercus hemisphaerica”. Its slender oval leaf is similar to Live Oak but the Laurel Oak’s leaf has a bristle point at the tip. It generally has an upright growth pattern in comparison to that of the Live Oak. The round brown acorns are a source of food for deer, turkey, songbirds, squirrels and other small mammals. Oaks are larval hosts to many species of butterflies and moths.
Cabbage Palm can be found to the left of the marker. The large leaves have leaflets arching from a triangular midrib. This tall tree will produce a cluster of small dark black berries which are readily eaten by raccoon, squirrel, robin, mockingbirds and turkey. The terminal bud is often harvested and served as heart of palm, some say with a slight taste of cabbage. Collecting the terminal bud does kill the tree.
A straight, slender tree with gray smooth bark about 35 feet behind you is a Laurel Oak “Quercus hemisphaerica”. Its slender oval leaf is similar to Live Oak but the Laurel Oak’s leaf has a bristle point at the tip. It generally has an upright growth pattern in comparison to that of the Live Oak. The round brown acorns are a source of food for deer, turkey, songbirds, squirrels and other small mammals. Oaks are larval hosts to many species of butterflies and moths.