Dwarf Palmetto Plant (Sabal minor)
| | Botanist Jim Wandersee with a leaf from the Gunnera manicata plant |
| | | Dwarf palmetto, Sabal minor |
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Botany educator and botanist Jim Wandersee thinks that plant leaves are just as interesting as flowers. For example, the huge leaf in the photo to the left belongs to a Gunnera manicata plant, native to the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains of South America. No, it's not a wild rhubarb, but it is one of the world's largest herbaceous plants.
Wandersee contends that Louisiana's ubiquitous native palm, the dwarf palmetto, Sabal minor, has equally intriguing foliage -- from a plant science viewpoint. It typically has no more than 10 leaves, but it can live to be up to 400 years old! Although few Louisianans know much about the botany of this plant, he intends to change all that.
He is conducting life history and photomorphology studies [plant ecology] at Burden Center to help us learn more about our blue-tinted native palm. This plant is also beginning to be used more frequently in home landscaping and can be grown commercially, so he works closely with LSU AgCenter horticulturalists, as well.
For additional information, select the presentation file below:
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| Filename | Description | File Size |
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FoliarIndicators.ppt
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Foliar Indicators of Age in Louisiana Native Dwarf Palmetto Plants
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484.50 KB
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| Last Updated: 4/16/2009 8:41:56 AM |
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