Ancient Saw Palmettos in the Heart of Florida

[UngulateNerd92]

When we think about long lived plants, our minds tend to fixate on bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva), coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), or that clonal patch of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Utah. What would you say if I told you that we can add a palm tree to that list? Indeed, recent evidence suggests that the saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) can reach a ripe old age measured in thousands (yes, thousands) of years.

Now, at this point some of you are probably thinking "how can you measure the age of a palm when there are no annual growth rings?!" This is a legitimate hurdle that had to be overcome before such a claim was made. Using a lot of attention to detail and some crafty mathematics, a team of researchers was able to age saw palmettos in Florida's most ancient habitats.

Ancient Saw Palmettos in the Heart of Florida — In Defense of Plants

 

[Zooplantman]

Actually what I was thinking was "How can anything survive long in Florida where rampant development has been the policy for a century?"

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Actually what I was thinking was "How can anything survive long in Florida where rampant development has been the policy for a century?"

That is a fair question. On that note, I would recommend checking out my recent thread, "The inconvenient truth of Herman Daly: There is no economy without environment" The inconvenient truth of Herman Daly: There is no economy without environment