Sabal bermudiana

Sabal (Bermuda) palm
Sabal bermudiana
2013

This fan palm has been nurtured for around 200 years. It is one of only two remaining plant specimens which grew first in the Leith Walk Botanic Garden, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s previous site, and transferred to Inverleith in the early 1820s.

The bibby tree, as it is known locally, is endemic to the Caribbean island of Bermuda, where it is now under threat in the wild from introduced faster growing oriental palms. Past generations used to weave the leaves into hats and were also known to drill holes in the trunk to extract the sap which was then fermented to make bibby – a powerfully intoxicating beverage.

Find out more about the history of this palm in this blog post.

This post is part of The World of Palms Glasshouse Trail