PlantFiles: Bay Palmetto
Sabal mauritiiformis

Great palm for Southern California, though seems to do better inland than near the coast. Loves heat! Is one of the faster growing Sabals (here in So Cal where most are pretty slow- in Florida might be more average). The leaves of this species are more split than most and highly ornamental. Some of the slower, shaded specimens develop huge, deeply split bright green leaves that look more like an exotic Licuala species than a Sabal. As it forms a trunk, the greenish color of the trunk stays longer, also making it very ornamental. Older palms in humid rainy climates tend to lose the leaf bases, or 'boots' and have smooth, pale to olive-green, ringed trunks. Often confused with Sabal yapa, which has a similar leaf shape.. but the leaves of S yapa have a bluish cast underneath, and the palm is sometimes a beafier palm, while S mauritiiformis has a relatively skinny trunk for a Sabal. However, I still am at a loss to tell them apart most of the time. It's one of the least cold tolerant Sabals, though, and mine has gotten leaf damage almost every year below 29F.