''Cycas circinalis'', also known as the queen sago, is a species of
cycad known in the wild only from southern India. ''Cycas circinalis'' is the only gymnosperm species found among native Sri Lankan flora.
Taxonomy
''C. circinallis'' is native to southern
India and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, but the species name was formerly widely used for similar cycads in Southeast Asia, which leads to confusion in modern sources. The specimens described as "''C. circinallis''" in
Indonesia and
New Guinea is now recognized as ''
Cycas rumphii''; while the taxon formerly described as the subspecies ''C. circinallis'' ssp. ''riuminiana'' from the
Philippines is now regarded as a separate species, ''
Cycas riuminiana
''Cycas riuminiana'', commonly known as the Arayat pitogo or simply pitogo, is a species of cycad endemic to Luzon, Philippines. It is also locally known as ''bayit'' in Tagalog and ''sawang'' in Ilocano, among other names.
Distribution
There ...
''.
Cultivation
The plant is widely cultivated in Hawaii, both for its appearance in landscape and interiors, and for cut foliage.
File:Cycas circinalis - sago palm - desc-top of trunk.jpg, Male cone, new
File:Cycas circinalis 002.JPG, Male cone, old
File:Cycas circinalis at Kadavoor.jpg, Young shoots
File:Starr 080716-9532 Cycas circinalis.jpg, Seed
File:ഈന്തിൽകായ.jpg, Collected seeds
File:Cycas circinalis112.jpg, Young plant as seen in forest
File:Cycas circinalis111.jpg, Leaf
Use as food
The seed is poisonous. The potent poison in the seeds is removed by soaking them in water. Water from the first seed-soaking will kill birds, goats, sheep and hogs. Water from the following soakings is said to be harmless.
inimum of 5 Soakings needed to ensure the safety
After the final soaking, the seeds are dried and ground into flour. The flour is used to make
tortillas,
tamales, soup and porridge.
Lytico-bodig disease
The plant was thought to be linked with the degenerative disease
lytico-bodig on the island of
Guam; however, the cycad native to Guam has since been recognised as a separate species, ''
Cycas micronesica
''Cycas micronesica'' is a species of cycad found on the island of Yap in Micronesia, the Marianas islands of Guam and Rota, and The Republic of Palau. It is commonly known as federico nut or ''fadang'' in Chamorro. The species, previously lu ...
'', by
K.D. Hill in 1994.
Chemistry
Leaflets of ''C. circinalis'' contain
biflavonoids such as (2S, 2′′S)-2,3,2′′,3′′-tetrahydro-4′,4′′′-di-O-methylamentoflavone (
tetrahydroisoginkgetin).
[Phytochemical Investigation of Cycas circinalis and Cycas revoluta Leaflets: Moderately Active Antibacterial Biflavonoids. Abeer Moawad, Mona Hetta, Jordan K. Zjawiony, Melissa R. Jacob, Mohamed Hifnawy, Jannie P. J. Marais and Daneel Ferreira, Planta Med., 2010, 76(8), pages 796-802, ]
References
External links
Floridata: ''Cycas circinalis''EDIS: Queen sagoUSDA Plants ProfileUniversity of Hawai'i at Manoa: King and Queen Sago
{{Taxonbar, from=Q161198
circinalis
Non-timber forest products
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Flora of India (region)
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