Saw Palmetto

Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small

The saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a low-growing dwarf palm with fan-shaped, sharply serrated leaves. The ripe, dried fruits are used. The traditional use of saw palmetto dates back a long time and was particularly well known in Central and South America as well as in the southern states of the U.S. There, the oil-rich fruits were valued, among other things, as a tonic and restorative.

Profile

Botanical name: Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small
German name: Saw Palmetto
Other names: Sabal
Occurrence: Coastal regions of the southern United States through Central America
Growth habit: dwarf palm with a low trunk
Rootstock: crawling
Leaf stalks: about 1 to 1.5 meters long
Pages: fan-shaped, sharply serrated, divided into 18 to 24 segments
Part of the plant used: ripe, dried fruit
Special feature: The name refers to its sharply serrated leaves.

The saw palmetto is a low-growing dwarf palm. It grows from a creeping rhizome and produces long leaf stalks that reach about 1 to 1.5 meters in length. The edges of the leaf stalks are serrated.

The fan-shaped leaves are sharply serrated and divided into 18 to 24 segments. Short, densely hairy, panicle-like inflorescences grow from the leaf axils.

The flowers develop into olive-sized, single-seeded berries. These are dark purple to black in color. Their taste is sweet at first and then becomes sharp and burning.