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Very Old Serenoa repens in Polk County FL

Matthew92
Matthew92
in DISCUSSING PALM TREES WORLDWIDE

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Went for a small hike at Crooked Lake Prairie in Babson Park, FL (just south of Lake Wales). Beautiful, endangered scrub habitat with lots of pine, scrub oak, and palmetto. Saw these unusually looking old saw palmetto throughout the trail- largest I've ever seen. I wonder how old they are.

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Some more typical saw palmetto throughout the trail

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Apparently they can branch a lot along the trunk

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It also looks as if the trunk can root in the ground as it grows horizontally, as this one appeared to be cut from the main stem and still growing.

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They looked like snakes on the ground

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Edited by Opal92

    • Like 4
    • Upvote 10

    Definitely a classic scrub land in southern Polk.  My uncle had similar terrain at the back end of his 5 acre lot back on a dirt road in West Frostproof.  Very nice pictures.  Serenoa repens is one of my favorites, and these are great specimens. 

    Lakeland, FL: USDA Zone 2023: 10a  2012: 9b  1990: 9a | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962)

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 1

    On hiking trails they call those half buried trunks "gator backs" . I have tripped on quite a few.

    Eric

    Orlando, FL

    zone 9b/10a

    •
    • Like 2
    • Upvote 1

    Great habitat photos! Thanks.

    Meg

    Palms of Victory I shall wear

    Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
    Florida
    Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
    Elevation: 15 feet

    I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

    •
    • Upvote 1

    Incredible!

    • Upvote 1

    very cool! like palms on another planet

    "it's not dead it's sleeping"

    Santee ca, zone10a/9b

    18 miles from the ocean

    avg. winter 68/40.avg summer 88/64.records 113/25

    • Upvote 1
    • 2 months later...

    As someone from a state that boasts of its ancient redwoods, I have more respect now for Serenoa repens!  ;)

    From In Defense Of Plants: Ancient Saw Palmettos in the Heart of Florida: "Based on the rate of growth and spread, the estimated age of these clonal patches of saw palmetto range anywhere between 1227–5215 years!"  http://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2017/1/25/ancient-saw-palmettos-in-the-heart-of-florida

    SawPalmetto.jpg

    •
    • Like 5

    There was an article somewhere that the giant clumps near cape Canaveral were giant neverending clones/offshoot 25,000 years old. Some of those trunks can be traced back 70'. 

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 1

    70,000 years?  Wow.

    Nice habitat photos. Trunking Serenoa repens are amazing to see.

    I just planted a silver Serenoa repens a few days ago. Mine probably won’t grow anywhere near the size of the ones in Florida but still one of my favorite palms in my garden. 

    Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

    Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

    • Like 1

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