cabbage palm

American  

noun

1. any of several palms, especially those of the genus Euterpe, having terminal leaf buds that are eaten as a vegetable or in salads.

2. cabbage tree.

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cabbage palm British  

noun

1. a West Indian palm, Roystonea (or Oreodoxa ) oleracea, whose leaf buds are eaten like cabbage

2. a similar Brazilian palm, Euterpe oleracea

3. an Australian palm tree, Livistona australis

4. any of several plants of the genus Cordyline , grown as ornamentals: family Agavaceae

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Etymology

Origin of cabbage palm

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cabbage palm

On the screened front porch, a round table is supported by the base of a cabbage palm.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 12, 2015

We met with Zambos carrying on their shoulders the cylinders of palmetto, improperly called the cabbage palm, three feet long and five to six feet thick.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 3 by Humboldt, Alexander von

In the valley is growing an immense crop of grass, upwards of four feet high; the cabbage palm is still in the creek.

From Explorations in Australia The Journals of John McDouall Stuart by Stuart, John McDouall

The cabbage palm is much less common in a wild state, and few planters will take the trouble to cultivate it, since a whole tree must be destroyed to obtain a single dish.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 12, No. 29, August, 1873 by Various

The first huts that were erected here were composed of very perishable materials, the soft wood of the cabbage palm, being only designed to afford immediate shelter.

From The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay With an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island (1789) by Phillip, Arthur