The last day of October marked the end of the saw palmetto berry harvest season and another year of poaching that has vexed law enforcement from South Carolina to the Florida Keys and across the Gulf Coast.
Saw palmetto is a common plant throughout the Southeast. The short shrub with long spiky leaves is often used in landscaping because it is hardy, adaptable, and requires little water. Once a year, the plant produces berries that Indigenous peoples have traditionally used for medicinal and dietary purposes.
Anurag Pande, vice president of science and commercialization at Valensa, a Eustis-based manufacturer of natural supplements, discusses how saw palmetto berries are used in the company’s products…