Serenoa repens Seeds | Sabal Palmetto
LATIN NAME: Serenoa repens
COMMON NAME: Saw Palmetto
Plant Profile
Among the ornamental and useful plants raised from seed, Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) stands out as a fine, easy palm. Saw palmetto is a low, tough, fan-leaved palm of warm, sandy coasts, and its great, round, fan-shaped leaves have been a familiar of warm lands for a very long time. Berries have a long and careful record of use in traditional practice of the region. It is a fine, easy palm of warm, sunny, sandy ground. Bees find the flowers quickly, and that pollinator traffic is a garden benefit in its own right. Add these qualities together and you have a species well worth a place in the garden.
Science & Biotechnology
Saw palmetto’s liposterolic fruit extract — rich in free fatty acids and phytosterols — is one of the most prescribed botanical medicines in Europe for urinary symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, and the EMA recognises traditional use for this indication at 320 mg of standardised extract daily. The clinical story is a study in rigour: early small trials were positive, but the large, well-controlled trials published from 2006 onwards, including a 369-man NIH-funded trial using escalating doses, found no benefit over placebo. The extract is at least very well tolerated, with mild digestive upset the commonest complaint. Men with urinary symptoms should first exclude more serious prostate disease.
As part of the Serenoa group, Serenoa repens contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. Saw palmetto has a strong and well-documented place in plant science, and dark, olive-like berries have been studied for a long time for their place in traditional practice of the region. Centuries of cultivation have left a detailed record of how it grows and behaves.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Saw Palmetto earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Saw palmetto is grown for bold, fan-shaped leaves and long record of use. Round, dark berries have a traditional place in practice of region, and they are gathered and studied for a very long time. In garden low, blue-green fans make a fine, bold specimen or a dense ground cover for warm, sandy ground, and cream flowers and dark berries are a fine food for wildlife of the coast. Once settled, it thrives on neglect more than on fussing.
Saw palmetto berry is one of the world’s leading men’s-health supplements, its liposterolic extracts studied extensively for urinary comfort in prostate enlargement; the scrub palm is a Florida native beauty.
Growing from Seed
Starting Saw Palmetto from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow thinly on the surface of a loose, well-drained seed compost, cover lightly, water in gently and keep the tray in a sunny spot with even moisture. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Saw Palmetto settles in quickly once it finds its footing. Saw Palmetto is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. Fresh seed sown into evenly moist compost is most of the battle won.
Related Reading
If Saw Palmetto appeals to you, these related plants are worth a look: