Sabal causiarum
Encyclopedia
Sabal causiarum, commonly known as the Puerto Rican hat palm, is a species of palm
which is native to Hispaniola
, Puerto Rico
and the British Virgin Islands
. As its common and scientific names suggest, its leaves are used in the manufacture of "straw" hat
s.
Sabal causiarum is a fan palm
with solitary, very stout stems, which grows up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall and 35–70 cm (13.8–27.6 in) in diameter. Plants have 20–30 leaves, each with 60–120 leaflets. The inflorescence
s, which are branched, arching or pendulous, and longer than the leaves, bear globose, black fruit. The fruit are 0.7–1.1 cm (0.275590551181102–0.433070866141732 in) in diameter; fruit size and shape are the main characteristics by which this species differs from Sabal domingensis
.
and the tribe
Sabaleae. As of 2008, there appear to be no molecular phylogenetic studies of Sabal and the relationship between S. causiarum and the rest of the genus is uncertain.
The species was first described by American botanist Orator F. Cook
as Inodes causiarum in 1901. The specific epithet, causiarum means "of hats"; the Latin word referred to "a wide-brimmed Macedonian hat". Cook erected the genus Inodes to incorporate members of the genus Sabal with upright trunks and leaves with well-developed midribs. Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari
transferred the species to Sabal and coined the current binomial, S. causiarum.
In 1903, German botanist Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer
described Inodes glauca, based on collections made near Peñuelas
in Puerto Rico by Paul Sintenis
. In 1931 Odoardo Beccari described Sabal haitensis based on collections made in Haiti
. American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey
described Sabal questeliana in 1944, based on collections from Saint Barthélemy
. All of these species are considered to be synonyms of S. causiarum.
Andrew Henderson
and colleagues noted that Sabal causiarum, S. domingensis and S. maritima
form a species complex
that may constitute a single species.
and palma de sombrero, yarey, palma de escoba, palma de abanico, or palma de cogollo in Puerto Rico.
and eastern Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Anegada
and Guana Island
in the British Virgin Islands between sea level
and 100 metres (328 ft) above sea level. American botanist George Proctor also reported a sight record of the species from Saint Croix
in the United States Virgin Islands
.
, which made "large quantities" of hats from the leaves of this species. According to Andrew Henderson, this industry had declined considerably by the 1908s. Leaves of the species are also used to make baskets, mats and hammocks, and older leaves for thatch. It is also planted as an ornamental or street tree due to its "massive, stately appearance".
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
which is native to Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
. As its common and scientific names suggest, its leaves are used in the manufacture of "straw" hat
Straw hat
A straw hat is a brimmed hat that is woven out of straw or reeds. The hat is designed to protect the head from the sun and against heatstroke, but straw hats were also used in fashion and as a decorative element of a uniform.- Manufacture :...
s.
Description
Fan palm
Fan palm as a descriptive term can refer to any of several different kinds of palms in various genera with leaves that are palmately compound...
with solitary, very stout stems, which grows up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall and 35–70 cm (13.8–27.6 in) in diameter. Plants have 20–30 leaves, each with 60–120 leaflets. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s, which are branched, arching or pendulous, and longer than the leaves, bear globose, black fruit. The fruit are 0.7–1.1 cm (0.275590551181102–0.433070866141732 in) in diameter; fruit size and shape are the main characteristics by which this species differs from Sabal domingensis
Sabal domingensis
Sabal domingensis, the Hispaniola palmetto is a species of palm which is native to Hispaniola and Cuba.-Description:Sabal domingensis is a fan palm with solitary, very stout stems, which grows up to tall and in diameter. Plants have 20–30 leaves, each with about 90 leaflets...
.
Taxonomy
Sabal is placed in the subfamily CoryphoideaeCoryphoideae
Coryphoideae is a subfamily of the palm tree family, Arecaceae....
and the tribe
Tribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
Sabaleae. As of 2008, there appear to be no molecular phylogenetic studies of Sabal and the relationship between S. causiarum and the rest of the genus is uncertain.
The species was first described by American botanist Orator F. Cook
Orator F. Cook
Orator Fuller Cook was an American botanist, entomologist, and agronomist. Cook, born in Clyde, New York in 1867, graduated from Syracuse University in 1890. He worked for one year as an instructor at Syracuse. In 1891 Cook became a special agent of the New York State Colonization Society. He...
as Inodes causiarum in 1901. The specific epithet, causiarum means "of hats"; the Latin word referred to "a wide-brimmed Macedonian hat". Cook erected the genus Inodes to incorporate members of the genus Sabal with upright trunks and leaves with well-developed midribs. Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari
Odoardo Beccari
Odoardo Beccari was an Italian naturalist perhaps best known for discovering the titan arum, the plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, in Sumatra in 1878...
transferred the species to Sabal and coined the current binomial, S. causiarum.
In 1903, German botanist Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer
Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer
Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer was a German botanist.- Work :* Handbuch für Pflanzensammler . Stuttgart 1891.* Anleitung für Pflanzensammler . Stuttgart 1894....
described Inodes glauca, based on collections made near Peñuelas
Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
Peñuelas is a municipality in Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Adjuntas, east of Guayanilla, west of Ponce and north of the Caribbean Sea. Peñuelas is spread over 12 wards and Peñuelas Pueblo . It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in Puerto Rico by Paul Sintenis
Paul Sintenis
Paul Ernst Emil Sintenis was a German botanist, pharmacist and plant collector.He studied at the gymnasium in Görlitz, became a pharmacist’s apprentice in 1863 and worked as such in several German cities.His first collecting trip, in the years 1872-1876, was as helper to his brother Max, with whom...
. In 1931 Odoardo Beccari described Sabal haitensis based on collections made in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey
Liberty Hyde Bailey
Liberty Hyde Bailey was an American horticulturist, botanist and cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.-Biography:...
described Sabal questeliana in 1944, based on collections from Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...
. All of these species are considered to be synonyms of S. causiarum.
Andrew Henderson
Andrew Henderson (botanist)
Andrew James Henderson is a palm-systematist and Curator of the Institute of Systematic Botany at the New York Botanical Garden. He has authored taxonomic descriptions of 140 species, subspecies and varieties of plants, especially in the palm family...
and colleagues noted that Sabal causiarum, S. domingensis and S. maritima
Sabal maritima
Sabal maritima, is a species of palm which is native to Jamaica and Cuba.-Description:Sabal maritima is a fan palm with solitary, stout stems, which grows up to tall and in diameter. Plants have about 25 leaves, each with 70–110 leaflets. The inflorescences, which are branched and as long as...
form a species complex
Species complex
A species complex is a group of closely related species, where the exact demarcation between species is often unclear or cryptic owing to their recent and usually still incomplete reproductive isolation. Ring species, superspecies and cryptic species complex are example of species complex...
that may constitute a single species.
Common names
Sabal causiarum is known as the "Puerto Rican hat palm" (or "Puerto Rico hat palm") or "Puerto Rico palmetto" in English, palma cana in the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and palma de sombrero, yarey, palma de escoba, palma de abanico, or palma de cogollo in Puerto Rico.
Distribution
Sabal causiarum is found in southwestern HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and eastern Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Anegada
Anegada
Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands which form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies approximately north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island formed from coral and limestone, rather than being of volcanic...
and Guana Island
Guana Island
Guana Island is an island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. One of the few remaining privately-owned islands in its part of the world, Guana has seven white powder-sand beaches and of tropical forest, mountains, hills, and valleys...
in the British Virgin Islands between sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
and 100 metres (328 ft) above sea level. American botanist George Proctor also reported a sight record of the species from Saint Croix
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of...
in the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
.
Uses
As is reflected in both the common and scientific names of the species, the leaves of Sabal causiarum are used in the manufacture of hats. In 1901 Orator F. Cook described a hat-making industry centred in the village of Joyuda in Cabo RojoCabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
Cabo Rojo is a municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area....
, which made "large quantities" of hats from the leaves of this species. According to Andrew Henderson, this industry had declined considerably by the 1908s. Leaves of the species are also used to make baskets, mats and hammocks, and older leaves for thatch. It is also planted as an ornamental or street tree due to its "massive, stately appearance".