South Carolina Possible Sabal Palmetto Native Range (Expanded)

[PalmTreeDude]

So I was driving on I - 95 and I saw some Sabal palmetto's growing in woodland in areas they are not known to be native in. I made this graphic that shows where I saw them growing naturally in woodland, the blue squares are where there native range does not include them or is on the boarder of there native range (and I saw some there). I could not take any pictures because I was driving down the highway and I only got a glimpse of them. They where not on the side of the road, they where out in the woods quite a bit, and they clearly had trunks and where not being pruned. Here is the graphic. The blue line is where I think includes their true native range. What do you all think? 

[smithgn]

Sabal Minors native range extends much further above the blue line on the map. Sabal minors are native in Richland County and I've seen a small grove in Lexington County. I've heard that they even exist in southern Anderson county and Newberry county. There are loads in Greenwood county and the closer you get to the South Carolina/Georgia line, the more prevalent they become.

 

 

[smithgn]

This is just one of many pictures I took of a sabal minor grove north of Columbia, just a few miles from where I live. This is right next to the Saluda river, which eventually becomes the Congaree.

[Dave-Vero]

Weakley's Flora, p. 230, has this information.  It's interesting and a bit of a nuisance to get through the long pdf, so I've taken the liberty of copying.  

 Sabal palmetto (Walter) Loddiges ex J.A. & J.H. Schultes, Cabbage Palmetto. Maritime forests, marsh edges, and other near-coastal communities. Jul; Oct-Nov. Native from se. NC south to s. FL, west to w. Panhandle FL, and in the West Indies in Cuba and the Bahamas; planted beyond that range, especially on the Gulf Coast. This palm is the state tree of South Carolina and is common and conspicuous (both as a native tree and in plantings) along the South Carolina coast; it currently reaches its northern limit as a native species in Brunswick County, NC, where it is a conspicuous part of the forest on Smith Island complex (Bald Head Island, Middle Island, Bluff Island). It is planted elsewhere (and farther north) on the coast. Periodic disturbance by hurricanes helps maintain populations of Sabal palmetto, which survives winds and flooding that topple or kill Quercus virginiana. Curtis (1883) reports that "Cape Hatteras is, or was, the northern limit of this Palm... It is to be deeply regretted, however, that a reckless indifference to the future, which has been charged as a characteristic of Americans, is likely to efface, at no very distant time, every vestige of this interesting ornament of our coast. The inner portion of the young plant is very tender and palatable, somewhat resembling the Artichoke and Cabbage in taste (hence its name of Cabbage Tree), and is often taken for pickling, and the stock is ruined by the process. Thus for a pound or two of pickles, no better either than many other kinds, the growth of half a century is destroyed in a moment, and posterity left to the wretched inheritance of vain mourning for the loss of the greatest beauty of our maritime forest."

[smithgn]

Oh geez, I thought you were referring to the sabal minor . Please disregard my previous post lol That's interesting you saw sabal palmetto growing that far inland. I doubt its range was extended that far inland naturally, but you never know. I read somewhere that the sabal palmetto only extends about 12 miles inland in South Carolina.

[Dave-Vero]

Well, S. minor can be mistaken for S. palmetto, so that excellent photo of S. minor in habitat was worthwhile.  Enough Sabal palmettos are planted, and people (and birds) spread seeds, so it's not at all impossible for seedlings to show up inland.  Its extirpation from Hatteras was news to me.

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

It does not surprise me at all.  I believe their native range historically is further north, and even a bit inland in both NC and SC.  The ones at SOTB on 95 in Dillon SC seem to survive just fine and even do well there for long extended periods of time.  My guess is that your line can be continued north in the same general direction as there are many places in NC like New Bern and Elizabeth Ciry where there are mature Sabal palmettos growing, though likely the tribe native range is closer to the coast up there. 

  IMHO I feel that most official acccounts / articles / documentation / what have you, largely ignore NE NC and extreme SEVA.   Especially extreme SEVA, which is still very much wild and largely u touched.    Everyone has seen that Wikipedia photo of the wild sabals growing next to the ocean and supposedly in VA Beach.   My thought is that those are likely south of Sandbridge VA.    There are many many miles of largely untouched coastline between Sandbridge VA and the NC border, and the climate there is  warmer than VA Beach itself.  That is evidenced by the sizeabe increase in survivability of Sabal palmetto in the Pungo and Sandbridge areas, with Sandbridge being the warmer of the two as its on the Atlantic  coast barrier island. There are plenty of Sabal palmettos in those areas that have survived for 20-30 years or more.  I know someone there that has 5 in their yard that were planted in the late 80s. The produce seed now and have full lush crowns.  In Va Beach they are a marginal 50/50 is my guess.  In VA Beach and surrounds you'll see dead ones standing next to ones with 1/3-1/2 crowns, next to new ones, and ones that have full crowns and are in seed.  It really does run the gamut there.  

I would put money on it that at some time there were native populations of Sabal palmetto in that area as well.  It is technically the beginning of the outter banks At Sandbridge and their climate is hardly any different from there to say, hatteras.  

I think that we don't see them in those areas or the outter banks in the wild much, if ever, due to extripation.  I know they are now being widely planted, so hopefully that will reintroduce them to wild habitats in those area.  My bet is that there are seedlings or smaller juveniles / young adults gotten away somewhere in the marshy wooded / thicketed areas far from mans prying eyes.