Saw palmetto
The Saw Palmetto is the sole species currently classified in the genus Serenoa. It is a small palm, normally reaching a height of around 2 metres. Its trunk is sprawling, and it grows in clumps in sandy coastal lands or as undergrowth in pine woods or hardwood hammocks. It is endemic to the southeastern United States.
Saw palmetto leaves are consist of fronds about a metre in length, with prickly edges that give the tree its name. They are similar to the leaves of the palmettos of genus Sabal. The fruit is a large reddish-black berry.
Native Americans used the berries for food, but also in the treatment of a variety of urinogenital problems. An extract made from the berries, rich in fatty acids and phytosterols, is now widely used as a constituent of herbalist treatments for prostatitis. Its value is accepted within conventional medicine, and is supported by research results; the mechanism of its action appears to be an inhibition of the conversion of testosterone to di-hydro testosterone.
