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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Serenoa''
| status = {{StatusLeastConcern}}
| image = SawPalmetto.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Saw Palmetto, Central Florida
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Arecales]]
| familia = [[Arecaceae]]
| genus = '''''Serenoa'''''
| genus_authority = [[Joseph Dalton Hooker|Hook.f.]]
| species = '''''S. repens'''''
| binomial = ''Serenoa repens''
| binomial_authority = ([[John Bartram|Bartram]]) [[John Kunkel Small|J.K.Small]]
}}
'''''Serenoa repens''''', the '''saw palmetto''', is the sole [[species]] currently classified in the [[genus]] '''''Serenoa'''''. It has been known by a number of synonyms, including ''Sabal serrulatum'', under which name it still often appears in [[alternative medicine]]. It is a small [[Arecaceae|palm]], normally reaching a height of around 2-4 m. Its trunk is sprawling, and it grows in clumps or dense thickets in sandy coastal lands or as undergrowth in [[pine]] woods or [[hardwood]] [[hammock (ecology)|hammock]]s. Erect stems or trunks are rarely produced but are found in some populations. It is [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to the [[Southeastern United States|southeastern]] [[United States]], most commonly along the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, but also as far inland as southern [[Arkansas]]. It is extremely slow growing, and long lived, with some plants, especially in [[Florida]], possibly being as old as 500-700 years old<ref>{{cite paper | author =George W. Tanner, J. Jeffrey Mullahey and David Maehr | title =Saw-palmetto: An Ecologically and Economically Important Native Palm | version = Circular WEC-109 | publisher = University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service | date = July 1996 | url = http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW11000.pdf}}</ref>.
Saw palmetto is a [[List of Arecaceae genera#Tribe Corypheae|fan palm]] (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the [[leaf|leaves]] with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of about 20 leaflets. The petiole is armed with fine, sharp teeth or spines that give the species its common name. The leaves are light green inland, and silvery-white in coastal regions. The leaves are 1-2 m in length, the leaflets 50-100 cm long. They are similar to the leaves of the [[Sabal|palmetto]]s of genus ''Sabal''. The [[flower]]s are yellowish-white, about 5 mm across, produced in dense compound panicles up to 60 cm long. The [[fruit]] is a large reddish-black [[drupe]] and is an important food source for wildlife. The plant is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including ''[[Batrachedra decoctor]]'' (which feeds exclusively on the plant).
The genus name honors American [[botanist]] [[Sereno Watson]].
=== Saw palmetto extract ===
{{main|Saw palmetto extract}}
The fruits of the saw palmetto are highly enriched with [[fatty acid]]s and [[phytosterol]]s, and extracts of the fruits have been the subject of intensive research for the treatment of urinary tract infections.
[[Image:Saw Palmetto Forest Floor.jpg|thumb|right|232px|Saw palmetto blankets forest floor in southern [[Highlands County, Florida|Highlands County]], [[Florida]].]]
The existing literature on S repens for treatment of BPH is limited in terms of the short duration of studies and variability in study design, use of phytotherapeutic preparations, and reports of outcomes. However, the evidence suggests that S repens improves urologic symptoms and flow measures. Compared with finasteride, S repens produces similar improvement in urinary tract symptoms and urinary flow and was associated with fewer adverse treatment events. Further research is needed using standardized preparations of S repens to determine its long-term effectiveness and ability to prevent BPH complications. <ref name="JAMA1998">{{cite journal | author=Wilt TJ ''et al'' | title=Saw palmetto extracts for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a systematic review | journal=JAMA | year=1998 | volume=280 | pages= 1604–1609 | url=http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/280/18/1604 }}</ref>
==References and external links==
{{commons|Serenoa repens}}
<references />
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=130134 ''Serenoa''] in Flora of North America
*[http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Sereno_repens.htm ''Serenoa repens'']
*[http://www.floridata.com/ref/S/sere_rep.cfm ''Serenoa repens''] from [http://www.floridata.com Floridata]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Trees of Southeastern United States]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Serenoa''
| status = {{StatusLeastConcern}}
| image = SawPalmetto.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Saw Palmetto, Central Florida
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Arecales]]
| familia = [[Arecaceae]]
| genus = '''''Serenoa'''''
| genus_authority = [[Joseph Dalton Hooker|Hook.f.]]
| species = '''''S. repens'''''
| binomial = ''Serenoa repens''
| binomial_authority = ([[John Bartram|Bartram]]) [[John Kunkel Small|J.K.Small]]
}}
'''''Serenoa repens''''', the '''saw palmetto''', is the sole [[species]] currently classified in the [[genus]] '''''Serenoa'''''. It has been known by a number of synonyms, including ''Sabal serrulatum'', under which name it still often appears in [[alternative medicine]]. It is a small [[Arecaceae|palm]], normally reaching a height of around 2-4 m. Its trunk is sprawling, and it grows in clumps or dense thickets in sandy coastal lands or as undergrowth in [[pine]] woods or [[hardwood]] [[hammock (ecology)|hammock]]s. Erect stems or trunks are rarely produced but are found in some populations. It is [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to the [[Southeastern United States|southeastern]] [[United States]], most commonly along the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, but also as far inland as southern [[Arkansas]]. It is extremely slow growing, and long lived, with some plants, especially in [[Florida]], possibly being as old as 500-700 years old<ref>{{cite paper | author =George W. Tanner, J. Jeffrey Mullahey and David Maehr | title =Saw-palmetto: An Ecologically and Economically Important Native Palm | version = Circular WEC-109 | publisher = University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service | date = July 1996 | url = http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW11000.pdf}}</ref>.
Saw palmetto is a [[List of Arecaceae genera#Tribe Corypheae|fan palm]] (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the [[leaf|leaves]] with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of about 20 leaflets. The petiole is armed with fine, sharp teeth or spines that give the species its common name. The leaves are light green inland, and silvery-white in coastal regions. The leaves are 1-2 m in length, the leaflets 50-100 cm long. They are similar to the leaves of the [[Sabal|palmetto]]s of genus ''Sabal''. The [[flower]]s are yellowish-white, about 5 mm across, produced in dense compound panicles up to 60 cm long. The [[fruit]] is a large reddish-black [[drupe]] and is an important food source for wildlife. The plant is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including ''[[Batrachedra decoctor]]'' (which feeds exclusively on the plant).
The genus name honors American [[botanist]] [[Sereno Watson]].
=== Saw palmetto extract ===
{{main|Saw palmetto extract}}
The fruits of the saw palmetto are highly enriched with [[fatty acid]]s and [[phytosterol]]s, and extracts of the fruits have been the subject of intensive research for the treatment of urinary tract infections.
[[Image:Saw Palmetto Forest Floor.jpg|thumb|right|232px|Saw palmetto blankets forest floor in southern [[Highlands County, Florida|Highlands County]], [[Florida]].]]
The existing literature on S repens for treatment of BPH is limited in terms of the short duration of studies and variability in study design, use of phytotherapeutic preparations, and reports of outcomes. However, the evidence suggests that S repens improves urologic symptoms and flow measures. Compared with finasteride, S repens produces similar improvement in urinary tract symptoms and urinary flow and was associated with fewer adverse treatment events. Further research is needed using standardized preparations of S repens to determine its long-term effectiveness and ability to prevent BPH complications. <ref name="JAMA1998">{{cite journal | author=Wilt TJ ''et al'' | title=Saw palmetto extracts for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a systematic review | journal=JAMA | year=1998 | volume=280 | pages= 1604–1609 | url=http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/280/18/1604 }}</ref>
==References and external links==
{{commons|Serenoa repens}}
<references />
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=130134 ''Serenoa''] in Flora of North America
*[http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Sereno_repens.htm ''Serenoa repens'']
*[http://www.floridata.com/ref/S/sere_rep.cfm ''Serenoa repens''] from [http://www.floridata.com Floridata]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Trees of Southeastern United States]]