Sabal mexicana

The Sabal mexicana is a robust palm tree widespread in Mexico, where it is found in large numbers on the coast, but also in dry or humid forests, or along rivers, in very fertile and well-drained land. It is also native to southern Texas, Honduras, and Guatemala. It is sometimes known as the Mexican sombrero palm, as its leaves were locally used to make wide-brimmed hats. It is characterised by a stout, brown false trunk covered with a beautiful lattice pattern, topped with a dense and wide crown of large fan-shaped fronds, light green in the sun but more bluish in the shade. It has honey-scented flowers and edible fruits, the size of a blueberry, with a sweet taste. It is a hardy species and easy to grow by the seaside.

Sabal mexicana belongs to the family of Arecaceae. It can reach a height of 15m in nature, probably 8 to 10m when cultivated in Europe. This palm tree, quite similar to the Sabal palmetto, grows faster if it is not lacking in heat or water. It grows slowly during the first years of cultivation, and a lack of water, although tolerated by adult specimens, also slows down its growth. It is a species that prefers clay-limestone and loamy soil and low altitudes.

This Sabal mexicana develops a single false trunk (stipe), cylindrical, straight, robust, brownish in colour, rough, sometimes reaching 35cm in diameter. It is covered by the old leaf bases that form a typical and highly decorative interlacing pattern. The trunk forms after several years. The foliage is arranged in a terminal crown at the top of the trunk, and can eventually reach a span of 6 to 7m. The crown is composed of costapalmate leaves, which means palmate leaves arranged in a fan shape around a central axis. In the Sabal mexicana, each leaf, 1.50m to 2.20m wide, is divided into 80 to 110 rigid, long and pointed segments, with filamentous edges and a bifid tip. Flowering, which occurs on relatively young individuals, consists of large branched inflorescences with white flowers, erect or pendant, emerging among the leaves and almost the same length as them. They give way to globose fruits, brown-black in colour, measuring less than 1.9cm in diameter.

The Sabal mexicana is a beautiful specimen to plant in isolation in coastal gardens, or in rows, especially in warm climates. Plant this palm tree near an entrance or on either side of a gate, or plant it in isolation near a swimming pool, it will be stunning and will amaze your visitors. Fans of exotic plants can also plant cycas and Colocasia nearby.