River Trail Stop 4

Saw Palmetto fill in the forest floor of the maritime forest.

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Stop #4: Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) The saw palmetto can be found surrounding post number 4. It is a small, scrubby plant that appears like the Cabbage Palm. To tell them apart, notice that saw palmetto’s stem ends where the leaves begin. The saw palmetto gets its common name from little teeth along the leaf stem. These serrations help to protect the plant from predation. The plants typically grow in a horizontal fashion, with the main stem partially buried underground. This helps protect the plant from fire. Fibers gathered from along the stem could be woven into cloth as well as rope. Berries the size of grapes are found in clusters that ripen in late summer and contain high levels of sugar and oil. These berries could be dried for storage then later reconstituted by cooking or soaking in hot water. The taste, however, was said to resemble “rotten cheese steeped in tobacco” by early Europeans. The berries are used to create a medicine that helps with prostate problems and is a multi-million-dollar industry in Florida today.