Still within the Secret Garden, I came across this young saw palmetto palm. In fact, it is a small palm between 3-6ft tall found in the South-east USA. Its trunk comprised many sprawling petioles and grows in a thicket or clump with stems running below ground along the surface.
This is a cold hardy, ornamental plant with palmate leaves of blue green. Grows comfortably in a range of habitat from seaside sand to wetlands. The petioles have sharp saw teeth and again, caution when handling.
The saw palmetto berries are small and round (about an inch in diameter) and turns black when mature.
Try googling "saw palmetto" and it will throw up hundreds of thousands health supplements and traditional medicine products with fruit extracts of these berries. Clinical uses include treatment for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (enlarged prostate gland) and as a diuretic.
All in all, a lovely low palm that's maintenance free, looks great in the lawn or beneath larger trees or palms. There appears to be a silver leaf form of this palm - another one to look out for!
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