saw palmetto

noun

1. a shrublike palmetto, Serenoa repens, of the palm family, native to the southern U.S., having green or blue leafstalks set with spiny teeth.
2. a tall palm, Acoelorraphe wrightii, of Florida and the West Indies.

saw palmetto

noun

1. any of several dwarf prickly palms, esp any of the genus Sabal, of the southeastern US

Word History and Origins

Origin of saw palmetto¹

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800

Example Sentences

They found hiding places behind trees or on the ground sheltered by the saw palmetto and brush.

From Project Gutenberg

The foregoing warrants the assumption that the active ingredients of the mixture are sandalwood oil and saw palmetto.

From Project Gutenberg

Our roads diverged after a while, and my own soon ran into a wood with an undergrowth of saw palmetto.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a screen of saw palmetto in front of them, hiding the water.

From Project Gutenberg

The gobbler got back to land, and led us a fruitless chase into the thicket of saw-palmetto.

From Project Gutenberg