Mr. Scott Zona, under the supervision of Dr. Sherwin Carlquist of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, will undertake extensive field-collecting of Sabal palms throughout Mexico and the West Indies, to determine patterns of morphological and chemical variability among the species and construct an hypothe- sis about the evolutionary history of the group. Difficulties in collecting large palms have deterred most botanists from studying them. Modern taxonomic methods, applied to newly collected field materials, will improve substantially our understanding of the biology and evolution of these plants. New characters will be assessed with modern techniques of scanning electron microscopy of leaf surfaces and pollen, anatomical investigation of leaf structure, and chemical analysis of plant pigments. Observations will be made of seed dispersal (whether by animals or by water currents) and of pollination (whether by palm-specific insects, by generalist insects, or by wind). Improved taxonomic understanding of the ca. 21 species in this genus will facilitate analysis of evolutionary relationships and of the biogeographic history of speciation in the Caribbean region.
