By
Palmy Pal
History of Sabal Manteo
Sabal ‘Manteo’ Is known to be a form of Sabal Minor that originates from Manteo, North Carolina. This special form of Sabal Minor used to grow widespread across Manteo NC but has recently been presumed extinct. There was thought to be a few palms of this form left in the wild but due to development in the area the few plants that were left are now gone. There are no known plants left in the wild of Sabal Manteo. Luckily, a handful of Sabal Manteo were saved from development sites and were planted in a mini garden dedicated to the Manteo form of Sabal Minor. The plants are owned and cared for by a local research center. I was granted permission to collect a handful of seeds from the protected Sabal Manteo plants they own. I am greatly honored to grow these seeds out and introduce this amazing form into cultivation. The mission is to not only get this form into cultivation but also to get it back into the wild in Manteo where it used to thrive in the sandy forestry.
Growing Information
Sabal Manteo is a smaller, compact form of Sabal Minor that is thought to be one of the hardiest forms out there. It heavily differs from its neighbor Sabal ‘Cape Hatteras’ in many ways. The palm is a lot smaller than the Cape Hatteras form of Sabal Minor, the fronds are more stiff, and the fronds are more blue in coloration. This form could be even more hardy than the Hatteras form of Sabal Minor since it tends to get more chilly around Manteo. It is clear that this Sabal is a different form from its neighboring Cape Hatteras form due to its small compact size while the Cape Hatteras form is a giant form of Sabal Minor. This form has short petioles with wide stiff blades. The coloration of the fronds on this form is quite stunning. They have a great blue azul tinge to them that is a very noticeable shade of blue. As of now there are no known plants of Sabal Manteo in cultivation. This form is very unique and extremely rare. As of now the handful of plants in the garden are the only plants of this form that exist.
There is not much if not any information of this form on the internet and I was lucky to gain information about it from the owners of the last Sabal Manteo palms left. There is nothing better to do than share the knowledge of this palm to the public to make more people educated about this amazing form. Hopefully this palm will gain the attention it deserves and become more popular. I hope this form will someday be reintroduced into the wild and thrive like they used to on the island of Manteo. I plan on sending seedlings of this form to experienced palm growers to distribute the form around and to bring it into cultivation big time. With such little conservation efforts such as this case, the plants can be saved from extinction.
Article written by @PalmyPal. All Rights Reserved.
(Pictures of Sabal 'Manteo' Included)
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