A New Twist to Berry Pickin'

Anyone who has spent much time in rural Florida knows that saw palmetto ( Serona repens ) is not an endangered species. This tenacious, low-growing plant is abundant under flatwoods pine stands and on rangeland. Pharmaceutical companies have developed an extract from the palmetto fruits that is widely used in Europe as a treatment for inflamed prostate gland. (That makes sense. Saw palmetto berries are eaten by many wildlife species. Have you ever seen a black bear or a raccoon with prostate trouble?...) The dried and powdered berries (botanically, they are not true berries) are sold here in health food stores as a food supplement and are well known as an herbal medicine in eastern Asia.

Suppliers to the trade began buying saw palmetto fruits in South Florida at least 18 years ago. In spite of increasing demand, prices remained low, 10 to 30 cents per pound. Last year's price was about 32 cents per pound. So far as we've learned, pickers paid landowners little, if any, "stumpage" before this year. But this year, saw palmetto fruits created quite a stir in South Florida. In the spring, many plants failed to set fruit. When picking time came in July-August the fruits were only about 1/4 as abundant as usual. Prices skyrocketed and a frenzy of picking activity ensued. During much of the season buyers in Immokalee were paying around $1.00 per pound, with the price briefly rising to over $3.00.

With cattle prices low, the 1995 saw palmetto fruit boom provided much-needed income for some south Florida ranchers. One arrangement between landowners and pickers was a 50/50 split of the proceeds. On several holdings the rancher's cut--all profit--averaged about $100.00 per picker per day. However, smitten by the idea of making $200.00 or more per day, many pickers just made a beeline for the berries. Some fences were cut, cattle got loose, cars hit cattle, ranchers were held liable for damage to cars... Also, unfortunately, four berry pickers died of rattlesnake bites and another drowned trying to cross a canal. Black bears, raccoons, opossums, wild hogs, field mice, and other wild animals who eat the fruit suffered a double whammy this year: the crop was poor to begin with and then the two-legged critters grabbed most of the already-slim pickins.

Was it a once-in-a-lifetime bonanza or the first sign that the fruits will become an additional source of income for owners of Florida range and forest land? A south Florida nurseryman who keeps track of the saw palmetto berry trade believes that rising demand and increased competition among buyers were important factors in this year's price rise. If he is right, next year's price could be high enough to interest landowners as well as pickers even if the fruits are abundant.

Although saw palmettos growing in the forest understory do bear fruit, practically all of the picking to date has apparently been done on rangeland not shaded by trees. We'd like to know more about yields in the understory of pine stands and on recently clearcut areas.

The buyers and the pickers who supply them work mainly in the Immokalee area of south Florida, although the plant and its fruit occurs throughout Florida and in coastal parts of neighboring states. One newspaper article stated that saw palmetto fruit buyers also set up shop in Tampa, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Lake City, and Albany, Georgia. But, we have so far been unable to find out anything about picking or buying in north or central Florida. Please give us a call if you have any information.