Description
This stunning palm is one of the largest and fastest growing in the genus Sabal. It is native to the Caribbean Islands of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and to the Virgin Islands, where it is quite common in a number of different habitats. It sports a thick, smooth gray trunk and a dense crown of strongly costapalmate, bluish-green leaves. In cultivation it is as easy as any other Sabal and even though not quite as hardy to freezing temperatures as most of its cousins, it will withstand an occasional icing and will flourish in most tropical and warm temperate climates with hot summers. Once established, it is also hardy to drought and coastal conditions. Sabal causiarum is frequently confused with Sabal domingensis but can easily be told apart by its large, papery leafbase appendages and its inflorescences which are much longer than the leaves.