New species of Sabal discovered! Sabal antillensis from the Leeward Antilles

[Zeeth]

Saw a link to this article on Montgomery's FB page. This is an interesting palm! It reminds me a bit of the large, smooth trunked Sabals (S. causiarum, S. maritima, S. domingensis), but it's got an interesting tapering trunk. I'll attach some pics from the article, but check out the article attached to this post for more info.

19710-10766-1-PB.pdf

[Chris Chance]

That's cool! I bet those are super slow growing but definitely unique looking for a Sabal.

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

what a habitat vista

[Jdiaz31089]

Very cool!

[NatureGirl]

Sabal 'stumpy' 

[southpacific73]

Cool a bottleneck sabal 

[PalmatierMeg]

Very cool Sabal. Hope seeds become available.

[Jdiaz31089]

5 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Very cool Sabal. Hope seeds become available.

I agree!

[Firepalm]

Always cool to see new species being discovered.  This one has an interesting look. They must be super wind tolerant based on the exposure.

[Julio ABQ]

Exciting new discovery!

[Silas_Sancona]

Very exciting news! 

Almost has that "caudiform- esque" look to it.  Hopefully future cultivated specimens retain these charactaristics. Thanks for sharing Zeeth

[Mandrew968]

Look at my boy, Patrick! He is the man. 

[Yunder Wækraus]

Awesome--thanks for sharing!

[Palmaceae]

Cool looking palms, thanks for posting them.

[ThePalmNovice]

Wow, this is one of the nicest looking Sabal's I've ever seen. Love the thick, smooth look of the trunk and the tight cluster of leaves. I hope this palm eventually becomes available to palm enthusiasts like us some day. I'm kind of surprised that this species took so long to discover. Bonaire and Curaçao are both small, well developed islands just a few hours flight out of Miami. I didn't think there would be any new palms left to find outside isolated areas in Africa and Asia. Makes you wonder what else could be out there just under our noses. How often are new palm tree species like this discovered? Is it a common (every few years) occurrence?

I'd love to learn the specs on this palm eventually. I wonder how fast it grows, how tall it grows, and what's it's cold tolerance. Given its location you would assume it would be a tropical-only species, but then again Sabal causiarum are from Pureto Rico and do fine in North Florida. I'll be keeping an eye on this new Sabal species as time goes forward. Thank you for sharing. 

[Matthew92]

[Alicehunter2000]

A Bottle Sabal....crazy no one has discovered it already

[Tracy S]

That is  amazing. Thanks for the in situ pics.

[Zeeth]

I'd love to get some seeds of this palm if it ever becomes available. I've been keeping an eye on RPS hoping it becomes available eventually. 

[PalmatierMeg]

32 minutes ago, Zeeth said:

I'd love to get some seeds of this palm if it ever becomes available. I've been keeping an eye on RPS hoping it becomes available eventually. 

Me too.

[Josue Diaz]

it looks like seed was collected in the Dominican Republic by MBC (Montgomery Botanical Center). 

 

[bubba]

Who could have dreamed of a "Bottle Sabal"! Thank you Zeeth!

[Sabal King]

I have to revive this, but wondering if anyone has these in seed or seedling format?  We vacationed out in Curacao a few years ago and saw these... beautiful!

[Dartolution]

 OMG... 

This has got to be the most "tropical" looking sabal I have seen... 

MUST HAVE SEEDS NOW!!! 

[ahosey01]

Anyone ever find a good seed source for this palm?

Would love to grow!

[Zeeth]

I feel like the palm is big enough at this point to post an image online. So far it's growing like a very stiff Sabal with extra short petioles. Definitely has a different look to it. 

 

[Phoenikakias]

3 hours ago, Zeeth said:

I feel like the palm is big enough at this point to post an image online. So far it's growing like a very stiff Sabal with extra short petioles. Definitely has a different look to it. 

 

It still reminds of causiarum !

[Zeeth]

Yes I agree. Petioles are a little shorter at this size than S. causiarum though

[kylecawazafla]

Where is that palm growing? It's definitely interesting to look at! 

[PalmatierMeg]

Interesting to see a young one growing (in FL?) I’d love to try it but from what I’ve learned it is protected on its island and, in general, the main if not only sources of seeds available outside of botanical gardens are poached/smuggled from habitat. I can’t justify satisfying my wish to grow it by subsidizing theft of endangered palm seeds. If I could be sure the availability was legal, yeah.

[Sabal King]

On 12/4/2022 at 9:16 AM, Zeeth said:

I feel like the palm is big enough at this point to post an image online. So far it's growing like a very stiff Sabal with extra short petioles. Definitely has a different look to it. 

 

Any idea if there are most of these available anywhere (seeds) ?  I have heard someone in CA has these for sale, but their reputation is muddy at best.

[Zeeth]

Not that I know of, and they're now protected by the Curacao government. Montgomery Botanical Garden has them growing, so they may show up on FNGLA auctions in a few years once they start seeding. 

[PalmatierMeg]

10 hours ago, Sabal King said:

Any idea if there are most of these available anywhere (seeds) ?  I have heard someone in CA has these for sale, but their reputation is muddy at best.

Be very leery of any individual person claiming to sell seeds/seedlings of this rare Sabal because of the following:

1. Seeds are not the species seller claims them to be and you will be gypped.

2. Seeds are the real deal but have been stolen/smuggled from protected habitat with intent to peddle them for big bucks, which is greedy, immoral, unethical and illegal.

Look for a seller like MBC, FNGLA or similar botanical that is on the up and up. If that takes years, so be it. Most people on this forum are far younger than I.

[Sabal King]

17 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Be very leery of any individual person claiming to sell seeds/seedlings of this rare Sabal because of the following:

1. Seeds are not the species seller claims them to be and you will be gypped.

2. Seeds are the real deal but have been stolen/smuggled from protected habitat with intent to peddle them for big bucks, which is greedy, immoral, unethical and illegal.

Look for a seller like MBC, FNGLA or similar botanical that is on the up and up. If that takes years, so be it. Most people on this forum are far younger than I.

100% to the above... I actually emailed the foundation in Bonaire that evidently it sounds like they have "cultivated" seeds... let's see what they tell me.  I have already been solicited to purchase one of these from said seller.  No thanks.

[Zeeth]

17 hours ago, Sabal King said:

100% to the above... I actually emailed the foundation in Bonaire that evidently it sounds like they have "cultivated" seeds... let's see what they tell me.  I have already been solicited to purchase one of these from said seller.  No thanks.

Keep in mind that the Sabal native to Bonaire is now classified as Sabal lougheediana, not antillensis.