What Is Serenoa Repens?

Form and Reproduction

• In most instances, the main stems of a saw palmetto fail to break the surface, remaining just under the soil while the branches and leaves grow outward from them. In some cases, the stem does break through the ground, forming a trunk. Saw palmetto forms extensive thickets in a wild setting, as its root system generates new growth. The saw palmetto also develops from seeds.

Foliage

• The leafstalks of the saw palmetto reach lengths of 24 inches. They give the plant its name by featuring sharp teeth on both sides. The compound leaves fan out from the ends of the leafstalk, growing to have diameters of about 24 inches. Two color forms of saw palmetto occur, with the most common one being yellowish-green and another being a silvery bluish-green.

Geography

• In a wild pine forest, the saw palmetto can cover hundreds of acres as a ground cover. Serenoa repens grows in many habitats, including along the coast in sandy dunes, damp forests, drier scrub woodlands and sometimes in wetlands. Its geographic distribution includes the coastal plain sections from South Carolina through the tip of the Florida Peninsula and westward into southeastern parishes of Louisiana.

Uses

• Landscapers employ the saw palmetto as a framing hedge and along foundations, being careful not to place the plant where children may encounter the sharp edges of its leafstalks. It will grow as an understory shrub beneath bigger palm trees, and you can plant it in groups in a mixed border. A drug extracted from its dried fruits helps treat the effects of urinary tract infections, bladder problems and prostate swelling, according to the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce.