The South Carolina Palm Tree

Southern Pain Tree

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The official nickname for South Carolina is The Palmetto State, referring to the state tree (the sabal palmetto). Commonly called the cabbage palmetto, the sabal palmetto (Inodes Palmetto) was added to the "National" flag of South Carolina after it seceded from the Union in 1861.

A Palmetto tree was added and centered on the blue field. The Palmetto, the South Carolina State Tree, had been attributed as instrumental in Colonel Moultrie's defense of Sullivan's Island against an attack by British warships in June of 1776. ... Instead, the cannonballs simply sank into the soft, tough Palmetto wood.