The Sabal palmetto, also known as the cabbage palmetto is the most abundant of the native tree palms. The habitat in which they develop, plays a major role when planting and growing them. These habitats, or biomes, are classified into two domains: terrestrial and aquatic. The cabbage palmetto grows in a wide variety of habitats, but they tend to be more prevalent in areas where the water table is close to the surface (“Cabbage Palmetto”). The areas in which these plants reside are included in terrestrial biomes.
Sabal palms tend to grow near bodies of water, due to a warmer microclimate being present. Due to water’s high specific heat, due to hydrogen bonds present, the bodies of water will absorb and retain heat energy released from the …show more content…
Though one would assume this migration is due to the cabbage palms escaping fire prone areas, there is no true correlation (McPherson and Williams 206). Sabal palms experience mortality only when there is a lethal temperature exposure to the bud of its seedling (McPherson and Williams 206). This can only occur when the cabbage palm is under three years of age, in its earliest stages of development (McPherson and Williams 206). Since this period of susceptibility to fire is short, no naturally induced forest fire could cause a great disturbance to palm populations present (McPherson and Williams …show more content…
When these trees are being transplanted into different landscapes, it is found that removing all leaves present at the time of digging increased the plant survival rate to 95% (Broschat). In comparison, the Sabal palms that are transplanted with a third of their leaves present, have a survival rate of 64% (Broschat). The variances in these percentages is due to the water loss that can occur to the plant due to transpiration through the stomata of the present leaves. The tree is still transpiring when leaves are present, thus furthering the depletion of water stored in the tree, killing the organism. It can take up to eight months for transplanted Sabal palms to develop the necessary root systems needed to absorb water. In this time period, they are depending solely on the water reserves present within their trunks
Sabal palms tend to grow near bodies of water, due to a warmer microclimate being present. Due to water’s high specific heat, due to hydrogen bonds present, the bodies of water will absorb and retain heat energy released from the …show more content…
Though one would assume this migration is due to the cabbage palms escaping fire prone areas, there is no true correlation (McPherson and Williams 206). Sabal palms experience mortality only when there is a lethal temperature exposure to the bud of its seedling (McPherson and Williams 206). This can only occur when the cabbage palm is under three years of age, in its earliest stages of development (McPherson and Williams 206). Since this period of susceptibility to fire is short, no naturally induced forest fire could cause a great disturbance to palm populations present (McPherson and Williams …show more content…
When these trees are being transplanted into different landscapes, it is found that removing all leaves present at the time of digging increased the plant survival rate to 95% (Broschat). In comparison, the Sabal palms that are transplanted with a third of their leaves present, have a survival rate of 64% (Broschat). The variances in these percentages is due to the water loss that can occur to the plant due to transpiration through the stomata of the present leaves. The tree is still transpiring when leaves are present, thus furthering the depletion of water stored in the tree, killing the organism. It can take up to eight months for transplanted Sabal palms to develop the necessary root systems needed to absorb water. In this time period, they are depending solely on the water reserves present within their trunks