Seeds from Sabal palmetto Cabbage Palm, Sabal Palm, Carolina Palmetto. The cabbage Sabal Palmetto is an erect, unbranched palm tree. It grows to a height of 30 to 80 feet with a stem diameter of 12 to 24 inches. Typically the stem diameter is uniform from the base to the crown. Leaf bases or boots may persist on the stem orslough off, giving the stem a smooth appearance. Cabbage palmetto leaves are fan shaped, palmately divided, and spineless. They are borne on a prominently arching midrib and may be 3 to 9 feet long. Cabbage palmetto flowers are perfect, showy, and creamy to yellowish white. They are borne in arching or drooping clusters. The fruit is a black, fleshy, drupe that contains a single brown spherical seed. The cabbage palmetto root system as a short, bulbous underground stem surrounded by a dense mass of contorted roots with smaller, light orange roots penetrating the soil to a depth of 15 to 20 feet The Sabal Palmetto is the most widely distributed palm in Florida. It grows in almost any soil and has many uses, including food, medicine, and landscaping. Zones 8 to 10.