Heart of Palm and Controversy
The state tree of Florida isn’t a tree, but it is a weed of many edible parts.
Cabbage Palm
The Sabal palmetto, actually an overgrown bundle of grass, is native to the southeastern US and West Bahamas Islands that produces many products.
At the top of the list is dark amber honey made from the palm’s sweet edible flowers. It’s esteemed and pricey. Next is the bittersweet thin fruit coating on the seeds, which are about the size of a pea. The layer of fruit is extremely thin, a skin really, but it does have a prune-like flavor. As for the seeds themselves…That is a bit of debate:
Of all places, the US Army Field Manuel on Survival (FM 3-05-70, dated 17 May 2002) says the seeds can be ground up and used for flour. It is quoted on several sites on the Internet and is the only source I know of that specifically refers to the seeds themselves as edible.
Several authorities, Dr. Julia Morton among them, seem to agree the seeds are edible but their language is always ambiguous, For example, Morton writes: “the Indians reduced the dried fruit to a coarse meal with which they made bread.”
The lack of detail in that sentence is telling to anyone who has tried to reduce the dried fruit to a coarse meal. That meal could or could not include kernels. Of course, anyone who has “eaten” the fruit of the cabbage palm knows there is almost no fruit at all, just a layer of edible paint on a round flattened seed. It would be nearly impossible to get enough “fruit” to make bread from it without using the kernel. It makes sense that they ground up the entire fruit, it just is not mentioned specifically by anyone other than in the US Army manual, which I have a copy of.
Young leaves of the Sabal palmetto (SAY-bul pal-MET-to) are also edible raw or cooked which leads to the most controversial edible of all, the heart of the palm, the inner core of the terminal bud. Taking it kills the tree, thus the controversy. It’s called swamp cabbage and millionaire’s cabbage though it doesn’t taste like cabbage at all. Raw it is similar to cattail stalks, read it is mild and crunchy, artichoke-ish. Cooked it tastes just like cooked asparagus to me. To get it I just go to places where developers have permission to take down the trees and I get my palm hearts that way. Once you have a tree you can do “heart surgery.” Here’s how you do it:
Cut off the top three feet below where the fronds are growing. Then cut off the top foot of that three foot section The young fronds in the center of that one foot piece are edible cooked but are tough. Now concentrate on the lower two feet or so that you have left. To remove the heart, which is the central core, the outer leaf stems are cut or pulled away. The fronds have a woody base called a boot which wraps around the trunk. They are shaped like upside down “Y’s”. The “boots” are stripped from the section until the tender, closely wrapped, central core is reached. The core is the swamp cabbage. It’s cylindrical, creamy white, and composed of leek-like layers of undeveloped boots (leaves really) with the texture of regular cabbage, but a nutty flavor. Many foraging sources tell us the lower pith that resembles a sponge is also edible. I have always found it too bitter to eat, raw or cooked, so I cannot vouch for its edibility.
Swamp cabbage can be prepared in various ways. Edible raw, the most popular Florida Cracker way is to cut it into thin slices like cole slaw and cook with meat seasoning until done, turning it from white to yellow brown. or gray-brown. When served raw in slices with dates or guava it is Heart of Palm Salad. Incidentally, the natives did not eat heart of palm until Europeans introduced metal axes.
This “recipe” is from Wild Edibles by Marian Van Atta, whom I knew in Rockledge, Florida, in the early 1980’s. Swamp Cabbage: Cut hearts of palm fine or shred into fine pieces. Optional: Soak in ice water for an hour. Slaw: Mix with mayonnaise and 1 or 2 teaspoons pickle relish. Season to taste. That’s it, not much to it.
Marion Van Atta was a rotund, slightly shorter than usual woman who always wore a straw hat and what looked like homespun clothes. A blue denim-like outfit was one of her favorite, judging by the number of times I saw it. I worked on a small weekly paper at the time — the Rockledge Reporter — and she would drop off her weekly column “Living off the Land.” Though a forager she leaned towards gardening and homemaking. She’s and my Florida mentor, Dick Deuerling, did not always see eye to eye. He thought her knowledge of trees was lacking.
Now, what of the fruit and seeds, or kernels?
Pulp is paint thin on hard seeds
The kernel is extremely tough. You have three choices. Eat the thin pulp off, which is prune-ish in flavor but also astringent, then use the bare kernel. Or let the entire fruit dry as is with the pulp on it. You can grind up the pulp and kernel to make a crude flour or you can grind up just the kernel to make a crude flour. Either way it is a huge amount of work. It definitely is more calories out than in. I don’t know how Native Americans did this efficiently. Mill stones would be my guess, or perhaps they sprouted the kernels.
I have obtained a coarse powder by tossing roasted kernels into an industrial strength coffee grinder to break them up and then putting them through a grain grinder. If you roast the pulp-less kernels at 350º F for 20 to 30 minutes they break up much easier and grind easily. The powder has a nutty flavor and makes a passable coffee-like drink, especially to the nose.
If ground raw crude cakes can be made from the pulp and kernels with a little water and cooked. It’s roughage and roughing it, and you might end up with brown goop I’ve tried boiling them to no success. They remained as hard as rocks. Roasting was easy but reduces the ground up kernel to an additive rather than a flour.
Historically, the palms have had many uses. The trunks are used for wharf pilings, brushes and brooms can be made from young leaves. The Seminole Indians used the large fan-shaped leaves to thatch their traditional buildings called chickees.
Fiber is obtained from the leaf stalks and is used to make brushes that remain stiff in hot water or caustic materials. Parts of the bark has been used for scrubbing brushes and the roots contain about 10 percent tannin. The trunk is still used to make canes and the leaves are woven to make coarse hats, mats and baskets. Fronds are also shipped around the world for Palm Sunday services. The boot fiber makes excellent tinder and if one digs some dry tinder can usually be found there even in the rain. And in case you need to know this, when the wood is struck by cannon balls it bends but does not break or splinter.
Keith Boyer, in his book, Palms and Cycads Beyond the Tropics, proposes that the genus name is derived from the Latin for palmetto, that is, “palmetto” comes from the Italian version of the original Spanish for “little palm.” Sabal is anyone’s guess but he suggests is it is a French anagram of La bas, which means “down there.” Labas also is a word in Lithuanian that means good and is usually used in greeting. But I think La bas and Labas are reaching. My guess is “sabal” it is from the sound alike sable, as in the fur, which was sabel in Middle German, zobel in Old German, and sobol in Slav and Polish for “black” like the color of the berries. That seems more sensible to me than an anagram for a bit of awkward French.
It is not without surprise that the palm also provides a substantial part of the diet of many animals including deer, bear, raccoon, squirrel, bobwhite, and wild turkey. And while the S. palmetto may not make up much of the human diet, palms themselves are the third most important crop for humans. Cabbage Palms also like their feet dry so in swamps and other wet areas they are a signal for higher, dryer ground. Look for them when slogging through swamps. Also, the Silver Palm (aka Florida Silver Palm, Coccothrinax argentata) also has edible fruit, not too appealing, and the terminal bud is also edible. It is a fan palm, dark blue green above, silver below.
Lastly, is the tree protected? I was certainly taught that over 30 years ago, and have read so many times. I think I also said so in my video. But it was recentlhy brought to my attention that it might not be so. And indeed, I can not find a state wide law protecting though I did find some local ordinances that protect the tree. In fact, the law that made it a state tree in 1953 specifically said its designation shall not prevent it from being harvested and used. If anyone knows of a state law that says otherwise, please let me know.
Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile
IDENTIFICATION: Tree up to 60 ft. tall, long spreading leaves to 9 feet, yellow-white flowers in many branched clusters; fragrant, fruit 1/4″ wide. Ends of the fan fronds are folded in half vertically. The only reishi mushroom that grows on palms is Ganoderma zonatum.
TIME OF YEAR: Evergreen, fruits in summer to fall.
ENVIRONMENT: Brackish marshes, seacoast, woodlands or hammocks and sandy soils near the coast and inland.
METHOD OF PREPARATION: Fresh fruit, ground seeds with or without pulp, growing end of young leaves, the heart. Roasted pulpless kernels have a nutty, if not coffee taste when ground. There is sugar in the fronds but it has to be beaten and soaked out. Incidentally, if the palm’s top is cocked, going off at an odd angle, or it is recently deceased, look for Palmetto Weevil grubs, about an inch long, edible raw or cooked. Burned stalks can yield an ash that tastes salty.
Hi Deane, just came a cross your website and video on cabbage palm.
I agree with you that there are many references about the use of cabbage palm for food but most seem based on anecdotal information or folk lore rather than many facts.
I read one account that said the natives taught the Spanish to eat the cabbage. I can’t imagine anyone (other than a bear) harvesting a palm heart without metal tools … Given the kind of soft rocks we have in Florida, I also can’t imagine natives grinding the seed either unless they traded with northern tribes for some igneous rock. Sprouting the seed first is an interesting idea.
I’m curious about this ‘protected’ status you mention. I’ve seen a couple other references to this a went to find a statute. From what I found, the law only says you need permission from the landowner to harvest. Do you have a citation that prohibits harvest without some sort of permit from a government agency?
Thanks,
Dave
You know, I might have to stand corrected. I have found the statute designating it a state tree but I cannot find any statute protecting it. A search of 2011 state statute on line produces on the designation and inclusion on the state seal. I know I have been told for over 30 years it was protected… maybe it was just a Native Plant Society lie… (just joking….)
15.031 State tree.—
(1) The sabal palmetto palm, which is also known as the cabbage palm, and sometimes as the cabbage palmetto, a tree native to Florida, is hereby designated as the Florida state tree.
(2) Said state tree being now extensively used for commercial purposes, the provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit in any manner said use thereof in business, industry, commerce, for food, or for any other commercial purposes.
History.—ss. 1, 2, ch. 28126, 1953.
It does seem to be protected in Duval County, and on Sanibel Island. So perhaps it is more a local function.
Are other members of the genus such as Sabal texana (S. mexicana) edible in a similar way?
Yes, S. texana has edible fruit and heart. The heart was dried and pounded into meal. S. minor and S. etonia were used in similar ways.
Hi! I live in Coastal GA and have several Cabbage Palms on the property. Under the palms (and pretty much everywhere else) there are seedlings six to ten inches high. I’ve been pulling them up and wondering if the roots of these babies are edible. It seems logical that they would be, but I can’t find any info about it. What do you think?
I don’t know if the roots of the cabbage palm are edible or not. Roots often are different than other parts of the plant because they are in the ground and have different soils, fungus and creatures to ward off. So often roots of edible plants are not edible. For example, above ground parts of the violet are edible but the roots are toxic.
Hello Mister Deane,
I like to draw you attention to the fact that the french word for sand is actually “sable”. However, I think that a color reference to black is more likely.
One other hint about the name (mainly anecdotal) is that ‘labas’ is an Arabic word used specially by Tunisians and Moroccans in greetings, very often.
The whole article is very interesting. Thanks a lot.
Yusef
I have heard the notion that the Natives of Florida probably did not harvest the sable, but knowing that they did eat saw palmettos and other palm hearts, I would believe that they probably knew how to harvest it and may have on occasion. Once the Europeans came with their metal axes and tools, the task was made a bit easier and they could have simply used the knowledge of the natives or tried it on their own.
Also, go to the Swamp Cabbage Festival in LaBelle, FL and try some. It is not protected… at least locally, there.
I read the following information. I agree about the message. Sabal palm trunks are used for wharf pilings, brushes and brooms can be made from young leaves. The Seminole Indians used the large fan-shaped leaves to thatch their traditional buildings called chickees. palmtreedepot.com provides another information to gain your knowledge about Sabal Palm tree.
In w. central florida, we have flint from which the early native tribes made tools. In a hill near us are Grey, yellow and red flint types. Spear heads and other tools have been found. In another hill is found gumbo clay from which pottery was made. It may have been possible to harvest palm hearts with flint tools. Thank you for your helpful and thorough info. I have also heard of some granite deposits, although small, in n. Florida.
I am experimenting on making the black bread from the sabal palm fruit/seed as mentioned on the Eat the Weeds website, but having difficulty grinding the seeds to create a flour. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Penny
239-634-7602
I think the natives sprouted the seeds then dried them them then ground them. That is my guess.
I’m just reading an article in Southern Living magazine about La Segunda Bakery in Tampa. It says they “use palmetto because that’s tradition”. They are talking about their Cuban sandwich bread, I think! I want to make the flour too!
Thank you Deane, I’ll try sprouting the seeds.
Penny
I am thinking about crafting the dead cabbage palm petiole. 1) I need to know how to clean it so it’s free from naturally occurring contaminants and safe for the environment 2) I would like to know if it is nontoxic so it can be safely sanded.
Thank you for any help on this.
Jean
We have two of these in our garden in England. They grow like wildfire – the bees really love the flowers and yes, the fruit is negligible. We have to cut back several of the “trees” – as the palm grows as many roots as can grab a share of the light… – to give them a fighting chance. But anyway, the flowers are a delight in May and June especially when you have 40 to 50 bumblebees or tree bumblebees gathering the pollen all day long. (We are also blessed with a very hardy Leatherleaf Mahonia which flowers really early in the year and produces a sloe like berry which, one day, I shall steal from the birds..)
Notice the fronds grow in a helical spiral. My native forefathers did. Without ax or knife they simple found a young cabbage (sabal (hariy)) palm about 5-6 feet tall and unwound the palm fronds into a large open flower and then broke the tender cabbage shoot out for food.
By the way, don’t eat the raw black berries. You will fall on the ground and drag your tongue through sand and sandspurs to get rid of the taste.
Hi I had a home built in Tamarac, Fl I told the company I didn’t want any trees near my home well I went last week and saw 3 palms close together 3 ft from my bay window. I was upset. Went to sales department they told me that’s included a certain amount of foliage and I have to wait til I closing on the house and then file a request to the association for removal, I have two little dogs a yorkie 13 lbs and a Maltese 7 lbs now I feared trees near my structure because of hurricanes in Fl but even more important now too are they poisonous? Or any part of the tree do they release berries? I want to protect my dogs I’m not hung up on palm trees. I called the city they told me they are cabbage palm and take a long time to grow I didn’t think at the time to ask if they were poisonous, are they. Thank you for future reply
Vacationing on Hilton Head Island, and seeing a few sabal palm “shoots” about 2_3″ tall, I scooped up a few, roots and all to see if they will thrive in Central Va. Not sure if I will do anything with the fruit, but I’ll bet the hummingbirds will love the flowers!! WISH ME LUCK!
These Florida weeds grow prolifically, traveling and popping up all over the lawn through their underground root system. I would tend to wish someone luck that they don’t just take over your whole lawn. (smile). I used to be able to pluck them out of the yard. I would love to know a solution to keeping these plants from taking over my yard.