Acoelorraphe wrightii

Common Names

Everglades Palm, Paurotis Palm, Silver Saw Palmetto, Saw Cabbage Palm

Summary

Paurotis palm, commonly called the Everglades palm, is a clustering evergreen palm with slender trunks forming informal multi-stemmed clumps. It typically reaches 15–25 ft tall and 15–25 ft wide, with palmately arranged leaves 60–90 cm across; leaves are green on top with silvery undersides, and petioles up to about 90 cm long bear orange teeth. Spring inflorescences produce creamy white flowers, followed by fruits that mature from green to orange to black, native to Florida, the Caribbean, and Central America in swampy, periodically flooded habitats.

It grows best in evenly moist to wet soils with full sun to partial shade, tolerates inundation, and adapts to sandy or clay soils but not calcareous, high-pH soils. Hardy in USDA zones 9–11 with cold tolerance to about -6°C; propagation by seed or division; maintenance includes pruning dead fronds and applying palm-specific fertilizer; landscape uses include specimen plant, screens, buffers, and lakeside plantings, with wildlife habitat value and moderate salt spray tolerance.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

15-20 ft

Spread

15-25 feet

Hardiness Zones

Zones 9-11

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full sun to partial shade.

Soil Type

Moist, sandy or loamy, non-calcareous soil in wet or swampy conditions.

Soil Drainage

Moist but well-drained

Soil pH

5.5-6.5, Slightly acidic to neutral

Bloom Color

White

Bloom Time

Spring

Foliage Color

Green on top; silvery underside.

Fall Foliage Color

Green

Leaf Lifecycle

Other

Growth Rate

Slow-growing, 6–10 inches per year

Seasons of Interest

Spring and Summer

Propagation Methods

Seeds and Division

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts birds, Attracts other pollinators