Buccaneer Palm (Pseudophoenix sargentii): Endangered Florida Palm

Buccaneer palm, or cherry palm, is a slow-growing, solitary palm native to the Florida Keys, Caribbean, and Central America, endangered in the wild but prized in cultivation for its elegant form.

Botanical Profile

Description and Features

This palm grows 10–25 feet tall with a slender, gray, ringed trunk. Leaves are pinnate, arching, blue-green, with a distinctive crown shaft. Flowers are yellow, in branched inflorescences. Fruit is red, cherry-like.

Cultivation and Uses

Buccaneer palm prefers full sun to partial shade, well-drained, alkaline soil. It is salt-tolerant and drought-tolerant once established. Highly prized as a specimen palm. Slow growth makes it expensive. Protected in the wild; buy nursery-propagated plants.

Conservation

Listed as endangered in Florida; habitat loss and poaching are threats.