Climatic Factors Related to the Range of Saw-Palmetto (Serenoa repens (Bartr.) Small)

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Abstract
The relationship between climate and the range of saw-palmetto (S. repens (Bartr.) Small), a common understory shrub in the southeastern USA, was studied by discriminant function analysis of seasonal temperature and precipitation and by computing annual heat sums above 4.44.degree. C. The discriminant function analysis revealed that 5 variables, mean summer temperature, mean range of winter, spring and autumn temperatures, and mean summer precipitation, could be used to estimate the range of saw-palmetto except for a small area in Georgia. The heat sums analysis revealed that an isoline following an annual value of 5550 degree-days closely defines the northern range of observed saw-palmetto except in Louisiana. Overall, the heat sums were most accurate in defining the northern of this species. The importance of these climatic variables to the physiological processes of saw-palmetto is unknown.

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