Sabal palm identification

[KsLouisiana]

Hey Palm talkers. Someone in my neighborhood has this beauty growing.  I was wondering what kind y'all think it is. It grows in zone 9a.  Any ideas what type of sabal it is? It's pretty large. Not sure if that will come across in the photo. Thank y'all! 

[palmnut-fry]

That looks like a bermudana, very similar to mine @35 years old here at my house. Beautiful

[NC_Palms]

 

2 minutes ago, palmnut-fry said:

That looks like a bermudana

Agreed 

[KsLouisiana]

Preciate y'all.  I have been wondering for a few years and finally got a pic.

[PalmatierMeg]

Bermudana is endangered in habitat. That's a Sabal that should be planted more 

 

[Zeeth]

I'm going to against the grain here and say based on the location I think it's a very old and trunking Sabal louisiana.

[ChrisA]

Someone, or several people, have posted this ID guide for Sabal palms that could be helpful if theirs sabal ever flowers.   The branching patterns of the inflorescences are one of the keys to identifying them, along with seed size.  
 

To me many sabals looks so similar they’d have to really be distinctive for me to ID them. I see a lot of mexicana here and many palmettos also, sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart unless they are with seed.

let us know if it flowers! Would be cool to figure out for certain. 
 

A Monograph of Sabal (Arecaceae_ Coryphoideae).pdf

[NC_Palms]

1 hour ago, ChrisA said:

Someone, or several people, have posted this ID guide for Sabal palms that could be helpful if theirs sabal ever flowers.   The branching patterns of the inflorescences are one of the keys to identifying them, along with seed size.  
 

To me many sabals looks so similar they’d have to really be distinctive for me to ID them. I see a lot of mexicana here and many palmettos also, sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart unless they are with seed.

let us know if it flowers! Would be cool to figure out for certain. 
 

A Monograph of Sabal (Arecaceae_ Coryphoideae).pdf 2.68 MB · 1 download

I cannot tell Sabal mexicana and Sabal palmetto apart to save my life! And I feel bad for it because I am not a novice when it comes to identifying palms lol 

[ChrisA]

Same!! I was looking at MegPalmatier’s post and looking at those Sabal maratima and dominguensis, they look the same to me as palmetto and mexicana. 😂 

[KsLouisiana]

13 hours ago, Zeeth said:

I'm going to against the grain here and say based on the location I think it's a very old and trunking Sabal louisiana.

I see what you mean. There is something similar looking but in person it's just too big to be a sabal louisiana. 

[KsLouisiana]

12 hours ago, ChrisA said:

Someone, or several people, have posted this ID guide for Sabal palms that could be helpful if theirs sabal ever flowers.   The branching patterns of the inflorescences are one of the keys to identifying them, along with seed size.  
 

To me many sabals looks so similar they’d have to really be distinctive for me to ID them. I see a lot of mexicana here and many palmettos also, sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart unless they are with seed.

let us know if it flowers! Would be cool to figure out for certain. 
 

A Monograph of Sabal (Arecaceae_ Coryphoideae).pdf 2.68 MB · 3 downloads

Thanks for that. That's a great resource to have.  

[palmnut-fry]

I mean, i have identified a trunking minor b4, they do not have the deep costa palmate effect or the leaf size ratio to trunk. Also, the inflorescences are spectacular jutting out in all directions with sweet creamy flowers! Minor's are more scantily branching so that is a clueI Also i cut off afterwards b4 seeds form, zaps energy from it after 4 years of extreme cold defoliation! Hopefully we get a break for a few years?

[Fusca]

17 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

I cannot tell Sabal mexicana and Sabal palmetto apart to save my life! And I feel bad for it because I am not a novice when it comes to identifying palms lol 

I hear ya - to distinguish non-flowering Sabal palms is nearly impossible for me although palmetto vs mexicana isn't so bad!  It gets easier when you have two growing next to each other.  Palmetto tends to have a thinner trunk and mexicana tends to have a denser crown.  But as @ChrisA mentioned seed size is the best ID characteristic for me.  Notice the larger mexicana seeds at the top of the pic compared with the palmetto seeds below.  Probably 98% of trunking Sabals in Texas are either palmetto or mexicana and I wouldn't expect Louisiana to be any different.

[PalmatierMeg]

Sabal palmetto is the smallest trunking Sabal by a long shot. The several Sabal palmetto I planted in Sabal Row were 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the other trunking Sabals.

[KsLouisiana]

2 hours ago, palmnut-fry said:

I mean, i have identified a trunking minor b4, they do not have the deep costa palmate effect or the leaf size ratio to trunk. Also, the inflorescences are spectacular jutting out in all directions with sweet creamy flowers! Minor's are more scantily branching so that is a clueI Also i cut off afterwards b4 seeds form, zaps energy from it after 4 years of extreme cold defoliation! Hopefully we get a break for a few years?

She's a beaut. I have a good feeling that this year the western gulf states won't have the arctic blast. I don't wish that on anyone but it seems like the fronts are diving a little more east.  Not sure if that's true or if it means they would continue. 

[NC_Palms]

7 hours ago, palmnut-fry said:

I mean, i have identified a trunking minor b4, they do not have the deep costa palmate effect or the leaf size ratio to trunk. Also, the inflorescences are spectacular jutting out in all directions with sweet creamy flowers! Minor's are more scantily branching so that is a clueI Also i cut off afterwards b4 seeds form, zaps energy from it after 4 years of extreme cold defoliation! Hopefully we get a break for a few years?

I know Sabal minor will grow to different sizes depending on the ecotype (NW Florida vs NC) but what causes them to trunk like this? I have seen photos of them like this which is interesting but only in cultivation.