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

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

From Washington Post • Nov. 12, 2015

Here, too, are the mango, and many sorts of bananas, and the cabbage palm, another favorite resource of starving adventurers.

From The Jewel City by Macomber, Ben

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

There was the cocoa palm, the date palm, and the cabbage palm, the latter of which furnished us good food, while the wine tree afforded an excellent and cooling drink.

From Through Five Republics on Horseback, Being an Account of Many Wanderings in South America by Ray, G. Whitfield

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