Sabal Palm

Full sun. Evergreen, drought- and freeze-tolerant, growing to fifty feet or more in ideal settings. Drooping leaves emerge directly from the trunk, with a dull finish; white flowers appear in early summer. Black fruit attracts birds and squirrels.

Sabal palm is the state tree of Florida, growing everywhere from the Carolinas to Cuba and the Gulf Coast. The ability to be directly transplanted from the wild allows sabal palm to be used extensively in landscapes throughout the southeastern U.S.; if you’ve seen stacked, trimmed palms being unloaded by the truckload, this is the species. See it at malls, military bases and many park plantings in San Antonio.