PALMETTO
Pal*met"to, n. Etym: [Dim. of palm the tree: cf. Sp. palmito.] (Bot.)
Defn: 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 Chamærops, or Sabal, Palmetto, the cabbage tree of Florida and the Carolinas. See Cabbage tree, under Cabbage.
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.
PALMETTO FLAG
Pal*met"to flag.
Defn: Any of several flags adopted by South California after its secession. That adopted in November, 1860, had a green cabbage palmetto in the center of a white field; the final one, January, 1861, had a white palmetto in the center of a blue field and a white crescent in the upper left-hand corner.
PALMETTO STATE
Palmetto State.
Defn: South California; — a nickname alluding to the State Arms, which contain a representation of a palmetto tree.
PALMIC
Pal"mic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. palmique.] (Chem.)
Defn: Of, pertaining to, or derived from, the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis, or Palma Christi); — formerly used to designate an acid now called ricinoleic acid. [Obsoles.]
PALMIDACTYLES
Pal`mi*dac"ty*les, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Palm, and Dactyl.] (Zoöl.)