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Sabal palmetto, also known as cabbage palm, palmetto, cabbage palmetto, palmetto palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, swamp cabbage and sabal palm, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm (Arecaceae, genus Sabal). It is native to the southeastern United States, Cuba, and the Bahamas. In the United States it was originally found throughout most of the Florida peninsula, and near the coast from St. Andrews Bay in the Florida panhandle to the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. As a result of horticultural relocations, cabbage palms are now found throughout the south and mature plants are being grown in many areas not normally associated with palm trees. It is the state tree of both South Carolina and Florida and is also the state symbol for South Carolina.

Sabal is a genus of New World palms, many of the species being known as palmetto. They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets; in some of the species, the leaflets are joined for up to half of their length. A variable portion of the leaf petiole may remain persistent on the trunk for many years after leaf fall leaving the trunk rough and spiky, but in some, the lower trunk loses these leaf bases and becomes smooth. The fruit is a drupe.

Sabal species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Paysandisia archon.

The species are native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas, from the southeastern United States south through the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America to Colombia and Venezuela in northern South America.

Arecaceae or Palmae (also known by the name Palmaceae, which is considered taxonomically invalid, or by the common name palm tree), are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. Roughly 202 genera with around 2600 species are currently known, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves arranged at the top of an unbranched stem. However, many palms are exceptions, as palms in fact exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics. As well as being morphologically diverse, palms also inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts.

Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms, and palms are also widely used in landscaping for their exotic appearance, making them one of the most economically important plants. In many historical cultures, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, and fertility. Today, palms remain a popular symbol for the tropics and vacations.