Sabal IDs

[Gville Palms]

I own some acreage that I partly garden on and partly just let be a forest. Lots of sabals grow in the forest part of my yard that I’ve never taken much of an interest in because there’s so many of them that they are more or less like weeds. That said, there are a few decent sized ones I have always liked and that I’ve gone out of my way to take care of. I’m curious if any of the Sabal fanatics on here have an idea as to what varieties they may be because there’s clearly some significant differences structurally between them. I have put some pictures below.

This first one is about 7 or 8 feet tall. The way the fronds fold almost looks like Sabal palmetto but most everything growing naturally on the property seems to Sabal minor so I have never been sure. I also think it’s kind of leggy because it’s growing in mostly shade. 

This one is 5 or 6 feet tall and has fronds that very distinctly split in the center.

This one is (and many others) are only two or three feet tall and appear to be structurally different than the other two I’ve posted although maybe they are just smaller so I don’t see it yet. These are the most common throughout the yard. There’s no real folding of the fronds in the center and there’s definitely no splitting in the center. 

 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

I assume these are native wild, not cultivated, Sabals. In that case I reckon they would be 1) Sabal palmetto; 2) Sabal minor and a distant 3) Sabal etonia. No other Sabal spp are native to FL. "Split leaves" are a trait of Sabal minor, which also has fairly flat bluish leaves. Palmetto leaves are costapalmate and matte green. Sabal etonia is non-trunking but its leaves are green instead of bluish. It is also found in north central FL in scrub land rather than swamp land. Those are your choices

[Gville Palms]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I assume these are native wild, not cultivated, Sabals. In that case I reckon they would be 1) Sabal palmetto; 2) Sabal minor and a distant 3) Sabal etonia. No other Sabal spp are native to FL. "Split leaves" are a trait of Sabal minor, which also has fairly flat bluish leaves. Palmetto leaves are costapalmate and matte green. Sabal etonia is non-trunking but its leaves are green instead of bluish. It is also found in north central FL in scrub land rather than swamp land. Those are your choices

First of all, thank you! Second, I should have clarified that I live in an area where there are a variety of homeowners who are very into plant collecting. For example, my “neighbor” behind me has a fairly large recreational nursery in his yard. His plants are constantly finding their way into my yard due to birds and squirrels (this is not a complaint as I’ve found all kinds of interesting plants over the years). The point of this is to say, I do not think the possibilities of what these may be is limited to native Sabals. That said, they very well may just be natives but I do not know how to identify the different species other than reading IFAS articles which have not been overly helpful. For example, most images and videos I have watched about Sabal minors don’t really reflect what the split palm looks like in my yard so I didn’t know if perhaps it was some specific variety or if there’s just a lot of natural variation among the Sabal minors.