A program sponsored by the Florida Native Plant Society.
The dozen:
1. Some basics
2. “Bootjacks”
3. Palms are not grasses
4.They are very long-lived and very slow growing
5. They can produce lots of shade
6. They are routinely over-pruned
7. And the pruning guidelines have changed
8. They are remarkably tough (fire, cold, flood, wind)
9. But they are threatened by Lethal Bronzing
10. They are important to wildlife
11. Especially for pollinators
12. They can be invasive
Jono Miller is the retired former Director of the New College of Florida Environmental Studies Program, his undergraduate alma mater. He is a natural historian and activist with 49 years experience in Southwest Florida. Since 1982, he has exhibited a particular interest in our state tree, the cabbage palm, which resulted in his Masters thesis: A Humble Vulgar Tree: Explorations of the Natural and Cultural History of the Cabbage Palm, Sabal Palmetto. Jono has presented Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto) research twice at our Annual Conference: 36th Annual Conference (2016) – ‘Observations regarding the historic lack of cabbage palms, Sabal palmetto, West of Panama City, Florida. 37th Annual Conference (2017) – ‘They died with their boots on: The mystery of variable dead leaf base retention in cabbage palms, Sabal Palmetto’, He also co-led a field trip at our 39th Annual Conference (2019) ‘Transitions’ at Mockernut Hill Botanical Garden: ‘More than you thought possible about Cabbage Palms’.
Jono has recently written a book on cabbage palms, The Palmetto Book.