cabbage palmetto

American  

noun

1. a fan palm, Sabal palmetto, of the southeastern U.S.: the state tree of Florida and South Carolina.

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cabbage palmetto British  

noun

1. a tropical American fan palm, Sabal palmetto, with edible leaf buds and leaves used in thatching

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Etymology

Origin of cabbage palmetto

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805

Example Sentences

He crossed the corner of the demolished abode, made his way through a press of sere cabbage palmettos, and emerged suddenly on the blinding expanse of the sea.

From Project Gutenberg

Their vegetables are chiefly sweet potatoes, large and much praised melons and pumpkins, and, if I may classify it with vegetables, the tender new growth of the tree called the cabbage palmetto.

From Project Gutenberg

The cabbage palmetto affords shade, kindling, bed, and food.

From Project Gutenberg

On two sides of me, beyond the orange-trees, is a thicket of small oaks and cabbage palmettos,—hammock, I suppose it is called.

From Project Gutenberg