cabbage palm

any of several palms, especially those of the genus Euterpe, having terminal leaf buds that are eaten as a vegetable or in salads.

Origin of cabbage palm

First recorded in 1765–75

Just outside the hummock was a cabbage-palm, which, as I have said, abounds in Florida.

In the Wilds of Florida |W.H.G. Kingston
Here was also seen the cabbage-palm twenty feet high, imparting a marked tropical aspect to this cool region.

Under the Southern Cross |Maturin M. Ballou
The cabbage-palm were in great plenty when I first landed on the island, but, by continual cutting, they were almost destroyed.

An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island |John Hunter
Before long they saw in the distance the beautiful plume-like foliage of a cabbage-palm outlined against the sky.

The Inca Emerald |Samuel Scoville

Several of my companions suffered by eating too much of the cabbage-palm.

Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia |Ludwig Leichhardt

cabbage palm

a West Indian palm, Roystonea (or Oreodoxa) oleracea, whose leaf buds are eaten like cabbage

a similar Brazilian palm, Euterpe oleracea

an Australian palm tree, Livistona australis

any of several plants of the genus Cordyline, grown as ornamentals: family Agavaceae