Welcome to the Palmetto Book and all things cabbage palm

Cabbage palm valiantly risks life to thwart desperate getaway

According to a Gary Detman story appearing on the cbs12 website in Vero Beach, a lone cabbage palm put its life on the line to stop a getaway, assist police, and possibly save a life.

The story, titled 3 lbs. of marijuana seized in traffic stop and crash in Indian River County, describes how Indian River Sheriffs arrested a driver “and seized three pounds of marijuana, other drugs, a gun and cash.” The vehicle had a broken headlight and when the deputy attempted to get the driver to pull over, he sped off instead.

The deputy failed to stop the speeding car — that was left to a lone cabbage palm in the median. The driver stumbled away with a broken nose and cuts to his face. He was taken to a hospital and arrested. No information was provided about the condition of the cabbage palm, which may have lost its life in the process.

Ironically, the palm may have saved the life of the driver, who could have been more seriously injured or killed had he crashed into a live oak, bridge abutment, or other more substantial fixed object.

Condition of the vehicle. Condition of the cabbage palm is not known.

Observant Citizen Calls Out “Textbook Case” of Overpruning in St. Augustine Beach

This post complements Chapter 9 Cabbage Palms in the Landscape in my book, The Palmetto Book: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm, published by the University of Florida Press.

Same tree before and after the Great 2021 St. Augustine Beach Palm Tree Massacre

Over 700 perfectly healthy cabbage palms in St. Augustine Beach were butchered in the name of overzealous risk management, according to a story filed by First Coast News Reporter Jessica Clark. The story that called out some bureaucratic mismanagement with the palms trees as the victims.

Bookstore1 Author Chat

Here’s an hour-long chat with the author of THE PALMETTO BOOK: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbbage Palm, Jono Miller, sponsored by Sarasota’s Bookstore1.

It contains some readings from the Introduction (2:25), the Seminole Thatch (18:30 &35:15) chapter and the South Carolina Flag (36:50), but a large part of the chat involves responding to questions from viewers. Strangler figs (12:25 & 44:40), the roots, (15:40), bloom stalks (16:25), wounds to trunk (24:00) bootjack loss (25:30), range and age (29:30), are they grasses (33:00), rootball size and survivability (45:15),as food (49:10) can you girdle a cabbage palm(53:10). I also reflect on the cover design (10:05) and introduce five books whose style and approach were inspirations to me (5:30) feature some Sarasota connections (40:30), and propose a cabbage palm mystery that needs solution (41:50).

Knife-Wielding Attacker Boasts of Targeting Lost Individual in Remote California Location

The victim apparently first had been attacked by a larger knife. At least, that’s the supermarket tabloid version of a testimonial for a new knife being touted by Backpacker.

According to authorities such as iNaturalist, and common sense, there are no cabbage palms in northern California, leaving investigators puzzled regarding the circumstances that led to this inexplicable scenario.

The region where the attack apparently took place.

The weapon, a Leatherman “FREE” K4X, (shown below) actually costs less than $100, and is not “free” in the common usage of the word, adding another wrinkle to this bizarre report.

The condition of the victim and location of the assailant, known only as A. Tester, are not known at this time. Hikers in northern California are advised travel in groups and keep an eye out for suspicious activity. The victim, described only as “tough and stringy” could be anywhere. Do not attempt to render aid — get a GPS location and report it to iNaturalist.

The Vulture Roost of Hontoon Island

This post expands a single sentence on page 134 in Chapter 12 Birds and Bees: Wildlife in the Palms in my book, The Palmetto Book: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm, published by the University of Florida Press.

I mention in passing that vultures roost on cabbage palms, “breaking down the leaves with their weight.” I recently visited Hontoon Island State Park, near Deland, Florida and before taking the free ferry ride over, I noticed what appeared to be some very stressed cabbage palms on Google Earth.

White asterisms in the center of the photo suggested severely compromised cabbage palm canopies.

It could have been a disease outbreak or some other mortality event, but I suspected it was a vulture roost. Vultures like to perch in dead oaks, but their roosts are frequently in cabbage palms.

It was easy to find, more or less south of the developed dock area. One clue was guano-spattered palm fronds that had been trimmed from the roadside (for clearance).

Fewer Palms for Miami Beach? Sounds Shady!

Yes, I saw the Martin Vassolo article in the Miami Herald: DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, MIAMI BEACH MOVING AWAY FROM PALM TREES TO CREATE MORE SHADE. And there’s somewhat derivative article in The Guardian MIAMI BEACH TO CUT BACK ON FAMOUS PALM TREES OVER CLIMATE CONCERNS.

There are many reasons to not plant palms in urban areas. Coconuts are a liability due to the damage posed by those darn falling coconuts. As a result they require frequent pruning to avoid creating risk. Royal palms are self-cleaning, but their fronds are enormous and could also be problematic if they hit someone. Chinese fan palms have fronds with saw teeth a shark would envy. And the date palms have long spines on their fronds that can send people to the emergency room. If OSHA regulated Phoenix (date) palms, they might be illegal. And this relatively new disease, Lethal Bronzing, can kill expensive Sylvester palms and cabbage palms alike.

But don’t tell me a City is cutting back on palms because they don’t produce shade.

Using Mammals to Improve Sabal Palm Germination

Thinking of growing cabbage palms from seed? You might consider following in the wake of some raccoons. Many animals seem to love cabbage palm fruits, and raccoons in particular seem fond of entire meals of nothing but cabbage palm fruits. The seeds pass through undigested and you can often find small piles of seeds after the raccoon’s digestive system is done with them.

While the raccoons enjoy the fruit, tiny bruchid beetles enjoy the seeds. Kyle Brown found extensive predation on cabbage palm fruit by these extremely small beetles and this has been confirmed by other researchers.

Cabbage palms: the insidious, surreptitious, cuckoos of the Florida retail landscape

This post complements Chapter 9 Cabbage Palms in the Landscape in my book, The Palmetto Book: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm, published by the University of Florida Press.

How are cabbage palms analogous to cuckoos? Their sneaky strategy for survival.

Eurasion reed warbler raising a common cuckoo. Photo by Per Harald Olson from Wikimedia commons

Cuckoos lay their eggs in other bird’s nests unnoticed and then the unsuspecting parents accept the interloper. That’s pretty much what cabbage palms are all about in parking lots and various retail landscapes. This morning I encountered a great example at Home Depot.

Judge by cover?

Princess Place Preserve

This post complements Chapter 20. Palm Abodes in my book, The Palmetto Book: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm, published by the University of Florida Press.

If you ever get to Flagler County, be sure to visit the Princess Place Preserve. It’s a little out of the way, but that’s a good thing.

There are several cabbage palm occurrences you’ll want to check out.