saw palmetto

3 definitions found

saw palmetto - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Saw palmetto \Saw" pal*met"to\
     See under Palmetto.
     [1913 Webster]

  Palmetto \Pal*met"to\, n. [Dim. of palm the tree: cf. Sp.
     palmito.] (Bot.)
     A name given to palms of several genera and species growing
     in the West Indies and the Southern United States. In the
     United States, the name is applied especially to the
     Cham[ae]rops Palmetto, or Sabal Palmetto, the cabbage
     tree of Florida and the Carolinas. See Cabbage tree, under
     Cabbage.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Royal palmetto, the West Indian Sabal umbraculifera, the
        trunk of which, when hollowed, is used for water pipes,
        etc. The leaves are used for thatching, and for making
        hats, ropes, etc.
  
     Saw palmetto, Sabal serrulata, a native of Georgia, South
        Carolina, and Florida. The nearly impassable jungle which
        it forms is called palmetto scrub.
        [1913 Webster]

saw palmetto - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  saw palmetto
      n 1: small hardy clump-forming spiny palm of southern United
           States [syn: saw palmetto, scrub palmetto, Serenoa repens
           ]