The Ethnobotany of Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small) in Florida

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Clore, Amy

Keywords

Ethnobotany, Saw Palmetto, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, BPH, LUTS, Prostate, Florida History, Immokalee, Palmetto Poaching, Seminole, Pharmaceuticals, Berry Picking, Serenoa Repens, Palmetto Harvest

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small, commonly known as saw palmetto, is a rhizomatic palm of the Arecaceae family that grows throughout the southeastern United States. Palms, in general, are acknowledged for their utility as construction materials, food, clothing, medicine and more (Balick and Cox, 1997). This local shrub in particular has not only served as such to the Seminole Indians and pioneers, but has generated its own growing industry. Every summer freelance workers scour the south Florida scrublands for ripe saw palmetto berries that sell by the pound in Immokalee (Thorner, 2003). Harvesting the fruit is an arduous and dangerous (albeit somewhat lucrative) process, which is now performed mostly by immigrant workers and often on trespassed land. The berries obtained are processed into supplements purported to cure a wide range of ailments, from hair loss to testical atrophy; however, the main focus of medical research of saw palmetto berry extract is on the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (Davis, 2002). Historical uses of S. repens are numerous, and this thesis seeks to synthesize the ethnobotany of saw palmetto in the past with the present. I endeavor to document the human interactions with S. repens from historical uses and harvesting practices through to modern medical uses and their potential efficacy, for a thorough ethnobotanical review of this little palm.

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