Abelmoschus esculentus (L - the University of Maine at Fort Kent

Kermath, Bennett and Pulsipher - Food Plants in the Americs
SPANISH: otoomal, palma de sombrero, palma de micharo, palma de
mícharos, palma huíchira, soyate
USES/NOTES: Small black fruit’s pulp, though scant, tastes like a
date (Phoenix dactilifera), and sweet heart is eaten as a
vegetable or pounded into meal.
NATURAL RANGE: Southern tip of Texas through Mexico’s Gulf coast,
southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, to the Pacific coast of
northern Nicaragua
REFERENCES: Alcorn 1984, Henderson et al. 1995, Latorre and Latorre
1977, Tabora et al. 1993, Tull 1978, Zona 1990
Sabal minor (Jacq.) Pers.
FAMILY: Arecaceae or Palmae (palm)
ENGLISH: blue palmetto, blue stem, bush palmetto, dwarf palmetto,
latanier
USES/NOTES: Pith reportedly is edible. Typically subterranean stem
rarely emerges.
NATURAL RANGE: Southeastern U.S. from coastal southeastern North
Carolina to southeastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas, and Florida
REFERENCES: Facciola 1990, Godfrey 1988, Henderson et al. 1995,
Sturtevant 1972
Sabal palmetto (Walter) Lodd. ex Schultes & Schultes f. [syn. S.
bahamensis (Becc.) L. Bailey]
FAMILY: Arecaceae or Palmae (palm)
ENGLISH: cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, palmetto, palmetto palm,
palmiste, sabal palm, swamp cabbage, swamp cabbage tree
PORTUGUESE: juçara, palmitiqueira, palmito, palmito-do-campo
SPANISH: guana cana, palma cana, palmicho
USES/NOTES: Sweet heart and lower terminal bud are eaten raw or
cooked, though because the tree has a solitary stem, this
practice results in the plant’s death. Sweet, dark pulp of the
small (> 1cm in diameter), generally round, black fruits, though
scant, tastes somewhat like a date (Phoenix dactylifera) or a
prune (Prunus domestica). Florida’s state tree, sometimes seen
incorrectly spelled as sable palm, also is planted widely in
urban landscapes and has been used for thatch.
NATURAL RANGE: North Carolina coast through Florida and portions of
the Bahamas and Cuba
REFERENCES: Adams 1972, Godfrey 1988, Henderson et al. 1995,
Houaiss 1982, Kermath (notes), Mabberley 1987, Martin et al.
1987, Morton 1977, OAS 1973, Tabora et al. 1993
Sabal pumos (Kunth) Burret
FAMILY: Arecaceae or Palmae (palm)
ENGLISH: sabal palm
SPANISH: palma real, pumos
USES/NOTES: Mesocarp is edible.
NATURAL RANGE: South-central interior Mexico, near Guanajuato
REFERENCES: Alcorn 1984, Henderson et al. 1995, Tull 1978
DRAFT - DO NOT DUPLICATE OR DISTRIBUTE
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