Why Are There Silver Saw Palmetto?

[PalmTreeDude]

I was looking at Johnathan Dickinson State Park on Google Streetview because I wanted to know what a silver saw palmettos habitat was like (I have a bunch of seedlings). Then I noticed that there were green saw palmetto literally right next to silver saw palmetto. Why are there silver saw palmetto in the first place, was it a mutation? I know a lot of silver colored palms tend to come from drier areas (this looks like one), but why does this happen? Also, would the silver and green ones hybridize naturally, since they are the same species? 

 

[kinzyjr]

@PalmTreeDude I can answer exactly one of those questions: yes, the silver and green can share pollen and produce viable offspring.

[palmsOrl]

Jeremy, when this occurs, do they come out morphologically intermediate between the green and silver form, or as one or the other?

[kinzyjr]

  On 7/29/2019 at 12:01 AM, palmsOrl said:

Jeremy, when this occurs, do they come out morphologically intermediate between the green and silver form, or as one or the other?

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Good question.  I don't know offhand.  I'll take an educated guess based on this article's reference to intermediate forms that they come out intermediate: http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~essig/Florida's Wax Palm.pdf

[Neil C]

The same question can be asked for Bismarckia and Chamaerops. The silver Chamaerops do however inhabit the higher slopes of the atlas mountains.

Regards Neil

[kinzyjr]

  On 7/29/2019 at 1:18 AM, Neil C said:

The same question can be asked for Bismarckia and Chamaerops. The silver Chamaerops do however inhabit the higher slopes of the atlas mountains.

Regards Neil

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In the case of the silver variety of Serenoa repens, they mostly occur on the Atlantic coast of Florida.

[Zeeth]

The silver saw palmetto are native to areas with a ton of salt spray. When you're driving through beach side of the Melbourne beach area the air is often literally hazy because of all the salt spray. Serenoa also grow right up on the dunes near the shoreline. The sliver wax helps prevent the leaves from burning from the salt spray.

[NC_Palms]

I once heard that the silver variety of Serenoa repens is caused by a recessive gene in some populations. The gene seems to be more prevalent along the Atlantic coast of Florida and in other isolated populations throughout its range.

Outside of Florida, there is a silver Serenoa population in inland Georgia somewhere. 

[Jimbean]

  On 7/29/2019 at 12:01 AM, palmsOrl said:

Jeremy, when this occurs, do they come out morphologically intermediate between the green and silver form, or as one or the other?

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Sometimes they form an intermediate color, sort of a blueish green. 

The blue variety primarily grows on either beach sand dunes or on scrub dunes that parallel the east coast.  Come to think of it, I've never seen the blue ones grow anywhere else unless they are planted. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Jimbean

[Steve in Florida]

The silver form can have some offspring that are greenish, minty green or bluish but the best plants usually produce offspring with 95%+ very blue to silver offspring.

[redant]

  On 7/28/2019 at 11:47 PM, PalmTreeDude said:

I was looking at Johnathan Dickinson State Park on Google Streetview because I wanted to know what a silver saw palmettos habitat was like (I have a bunch of seedlings). Then I noticed that there were green saw palmetto literally right next to silver saw palmetto. Why are there silver saw palmetto in the first place, was it a mutation? I know a lot of silver colored palms tend to come from drier areas (this looks like one), but why does this happen? Also, would the silver and green ones hybridize naturally, since they are the same species? 

 

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That parks my neighbor lol.

 

[PalmTreeDude]

My seedlings are starting to show some silver! 

 

[PalmTreeDude]

[Brad Mondel]

Epicuticular wax prevents desiccation. So salt + wind= desiccation. These have evolved a means of preventing that. 

[Dave-Vero]

Here's a Google Maps image of blue saw palmettos on a conservation site just south of the Publix supermarket in Melbourne Beach, Florida.  The extra wax on the leaves seems genetic--silver palmettos planted inland tend to keep their silver color (Bok Tower Gardens is a good example).  

[sonoranfans]

  On 7/30/2019 at 9:17 PM, Brad Mondel said:

Epicuticular wax desiccation. So salt + wind= desiccation. These have evolved a means of preventing that. 

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The wax also reflects a good part of the heating sun which leads to moisture losses via leaf transpiration.  These are in very sandy soils and are drought tolerant for sure.  I have 6 of the "blue silver" ones from coastal south carolina.  Green silver ones are planted around the skyway bridge area in tampa bay.  Waxy leaves function as anti dessicant as others have stated.  Even without salt, sun can dessicate palms in sandy soil.  Bismarckia for instance are great at limiting water losses by deflecting hot arizona sun, they are one of the tougher palms in hot and dry conditions along with brahea armata, phoenix dactylifera (silver green), and washingtonia filiferas(grey green) of course.

[Rickybobby]

I’m trying to gather all this. So silver sp. is near the coast and salt. So someone like me who buys silver variety seed and it germinates will it still be a silver variety? Also will soft water help feel at home?

[Reeverse]

There are tons of silver ones miles inland away from the salt spray here in Volusia county. Most are on the sandy ridges near scrub oaks. Almost every clump on beachside is silver though.  

[Bill H2DB]

Here are a couple of pics of Silver / blues that I grew from seed.     The seeds were gathered west of Edgewater Florida , along

Cow creek rd , east of I-95 .    That's not too far from the coast , but is not on the barrier Islands .

 

  I grew them in pots and then these in the pics were planted in Hardee County , on my place there . The location there is not on the Ridge .

It is on the west side , and is at about 85" elevation , and dead inland .  The soil there is as acidic as can be , in fact I often had PH readings of

4.6- 4.9 !!!    ( so acidic that when I planted coastal things like Spanish Bayonet , or Seagrape , they became  stunted and over time became sickly

reduced size plants and just barely survived , and some just died . )

    Anyway , as you see , the Serenoas continued to have the parent plant color , although the local weather there , particularly in the summer was

very much more humid , and less windy , than near the coast , and the plants showed effects of that .

AMC at Hardee by Bill H, on Flickr

 

Greenie at Hardee trl by Bill H, on Flickr

 

Greenie at Hardee trl by Bill H, on Flickr

 

P6190010 by Bill H, on Flickr 

 

Sorry about the focus on the one pic . It is what it is.

  Also there are some Silver / blue Serenoas growing along SR 44 on the east side of Eustis Florida , just as the Ridge begins to descend .   Very inland .